BUTLER TWP — Snow and ice proved hazardous this morning when an ambulance with a patient spun out of control and slammed into a guardrail while traveling up Armco hill on Route 8.

An attending nurse for Lifestat Ambulance Service suffered minor injuries but apparently no one else aboard was hurt in the rush-hour wreck that caused a traffic backlog for several miles.

“The (ambulance) was southbound, hit an icy spot and spun around,” said Butler County Sheriff Mike Slupe, who assisted Butler Township police and South Butler volunteer firefighters.

Butler Ambulance Service was called to treat and examine the Lifestat crew.

The patient who was en route to a Pittsburgh hospital was taken away in another ambulance.

Police are investigating the accident that occurred about 7:45. a.m. A report was not immediately available.

The hill was so slick that police had to call the state Department of Transportation to salt the road. A PennDOT truck came through with its salt spreader just after 8 a.m.