The purchases were funded with proceeds from a quarter cent sales tax that offsets ambulance service operations for Labette Health. The tax generates about $600,000 a year. Under the contract with the county, if the hospital ambulance service experiences a direct loss, the county agrees to reimburse the hospital 95 percent of its loss, or 100 percent of the revenue generated by the sales tax, whichever is less. Since 2013, the county has given $1,193,597 to the service to set aside for the purchases and outfitting of new ambulances. Three were ordered in 2015 from Braun Custom Ambulances, Van Wert, Ohio, and delivered this month, the last one on Wednesday. Two more ambulances will be ordered later this year.

Ambulance service Director Randy Grimmett accepted delivery of the ambulance late Wednesday morning from Brent Coburn of Jones Motor Co. of Spring City, Pennsylvania.

The three ambulances will replace three existing units with odometer miles reading 230,000 to 250,000.

The ambulance was not carrying any patients at the time of the 4 p.m. crash, Palos Heights police officer Joe Carlson said. The 20-year-old driver was not ticketed.

"The driver was pulling into the parking area when he hit the accelerator instead of the brake," Carlson said. "Fortunately there were no patrons or employees near the front of the store when the accident occurred."

Lake St. Louis fire department Chief Clinton Gussner said what makes fixing the trucks complicated is that they are about 20-years-old and the parts are no long available.

Gussner said in the 40 years the fire department has been around they have only ever had two tax increases.

In August the fire department has two propositions on the ballot for Lake St. Louis voters, Proposition Life and Proposition Safety.

Proposition Life is an 18 cent tax levy. That money would be used for getting the current budget deficit caught up and hire two more firefighters.

Proposition Safety is an eight million dollar bond.

That money would be used to consolidate the two stations into one new location and buy new equipment such as trucks.

The ambulance — a 2015 Dodge Ram 5500 — replaces a 2007 GMC medium-duty truck that went out of service in May; it had about 101,000 miles on it.

The fire department looks into replacing ambulances every eight to 10 years, according to Capt. Norm Simpkins Jr. This is the first time the fire department has purchased a new ambulance since 2011, when a Medic 355 was added, he said.

The new safety features and functions that the new vehicle provides impressed Simpkins.

"It's good not only for the citizens that we serve but for our members who ride the piece of apparatus," he said.

Last year, the prior Medic 356 was starting to show signs of its age, said Matt Urick, a paramedic and firefighter for the department. Wear and tear was starting to show, and maintenance costs were adding up.

In July, the fire department announced the formation of a committee to find a replacement. Urick was tasked with leading it.