An Ely ambulance collided with a moose on Highway 169 early Monday morning, although serious injuries were avoided.
The incident occurred about four miles west of Ely, at approximately 12:40 a.m., while the Ely Area Ambulance Service was transporting a patient from Ely-Bloomenson Community Hospital en route to St. Mary’s Hospital in Duluth.
According to an ambulance service news release, just prior to the collision a cow moose was standing in the westbound lane.
The driver of the ambulance spotted the moose and hit the brakes at the same time yelling into the back passenger compartment to hold on. The driver hit the moose at approximately 45 mph causing the moose to be hurled up into the windshield.
At the same time the steering wheel airbag went off causing the driver not to be able to see. At that point the ambulance went off the road into a deep ditch. The driver, being an EVOC trainer and over 25 years of experience, controlled the ambulance and prevented it from rolling over as it descended six feet into the ditch,
Ely Area Ambulance, Morse Fire and First Responders, Ely Police Department, St. Louis County Sheriff, and State Patrol were all paged out to the accident.
According to ambulance director Dusty Moravitz, “With everyone’s assistance, we were able to extract the patient on a backboard and out of the ditch and into the back of the waiting ambulance. We transported the patient and ambulance crew to the local hospital for a thorough scan and evaluation. As of writing this release, there have been no reports of serious injuries to the crew or the patient. EAAS wants to thank all that were involved in helping out in a time of need.”
