IA Ambulance in Fatal Crash on SD Interstate

Aug. 31, 2020
The passenger in a Sioux City-based Midwest Ambulance was killed when she was thrown from the vehicle after the driver lost control and struck a tractor-trailer on Interstate 29 near Jefferson.

A fatal crash involving an Iowa ambulance and a tractor-trailer shut down South Dakota interstate for nearly eight hours over the weekend.

The accident happened at around 3:30 a.m. Saturday along Interstate 29, just south of Jefferson, KSCJ-AM reports. A Sioux City-based Midwest Ambulance was traveling south when the driver lost control of the vehicle.

The ambulance jumped the median into the interstate's northbound lanes and struck the rear of a tractor trailer. The crash caused the tractor-trailer to roll over.

Tonya Bruscher, 29, was in the ambulance's passenger seat and wasn't wearing a seat belt she was thrown from the vehicle, according to KSCJ. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

The 22-year-old ambulance driver, who was wearing a seat belt, suffered injuries that weren't considered life-threatening. The 62-year-old driver of the tractor-trailer suffered minor injuries.

Crews closed down the interstate for nearly eight hours following the accident.