IMS Ambulance 1909

This image of the IMS ambulance staff and the ambulance was originally published in the August 19, 1909, Indianapolis Star. It was part of the coverage of the first auto races at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
 
The caption to the original picture read:
 
"The ambulance staff, which gave such effective service when Jake DeRosier was injured in the motorcycle races at the Speedway last week, will be on duty when the automobile races start today. Had it not been for the prompt service rendered when DeRosier was hurled from his motorcycle last Saturday the rider might have lost his life. The ambulance, which is the property of the A.M. Ragsdale & Co., will be in readiness to answer emergency calls during the automobile races this week."
 
The references to DeRosier are with respect to the first motorized competition - a motorcycle meet - at the Speedway which occurred the previous weekend. This photo ran in the paper the morning of the first day of auto racing and unfortunately, the staff was pressed into service in a most dramatic way with the deaths of driver William Bourque and his riding mechanic Harry Holcomb. Based on the link associated with the A.M. Ragsdale Company there is a good reason to believe the ambulance was a product of the Premier Motor Car Company.