MN Medic, Teen Die after Truck T-Bones Ambulance
A Minnesota EMS worker and a 17-year-old boy were killed when the ambulance they were in was struck by a dump truck Tuesday.
The accident happened shortly before 10:30 a.m. Tuesday at an intersection in Lawrence Township in Itasca County, KQDS-TV reports. A MEDS-1 ambulance was traveling south on Itasca County Road 336 when it was T-boned on the passenger side by a dump truck traveling east on Itasca County Road 57.
EMS worker Troy Edward Boettcher, 51, and Joseph Michael Latimer, a 17-year-old patient in the ambulance, died from the injuries they suffered in the crash, the Duluth News Tribune reports. Ambulance driver Kimberly Fay Hake, 28, and the dump truck's driver, 67-year-old Jeffery Elvin Ekholm, were taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries.
Boettcher's body was escorted to the medical examiner's office early Wednesday by a long procession of EMS, fire and law enforcement personnel, WDIOS-TV reports. That same procession also escorted his body back to the area.
"Losing someone, especially like Troy, it's just devastating to everybody here," Alyssa Kotula told KBJR-TV.
Boettcher had been Kotula's EMT instructor and had partnered with him when she performed CPR for the first time. She praised his support and kindness during her training.
“Troy is the person that has motivated me to just never give up," she said. "He’s the one person that has believed in me when I thought I wasn’t going to make it through the EMT class. He’s the one who said, 'You’re going to get it done.'”
Tuesday's accident happened more than a week after another fatal accident happened at that intersection. Minnesota Department of Natural Resources officers Sarah Grell was killed in a May 24 crash at that same location.
The cause of the crash is under investigation. Both drivers were wearing their seat belts at the time of the crash, and alcohol is not thought to be a factor in the incident.
A GoFundMe page has been set up to help Boettcher's wife, also a MEDS-1 medic, and his family.