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Minn. ambulance firm cited in fatal crash

Med-1 ambulance was issued two misdemeanor citations

The Pioneer Press

DULUTH, Minn. —The northern Minnesota ambulance company involved in a crash that killed a patient last May has been cited for unsafe tires.

An assistant St. Louis County attorney said Med-1 ambulance was issued two misdemeanor citations.

A Med-1 ambulance was transporting Iven Othoudt, 76, from a hospital in Deer River to one in Duluth for a medical procedure when the ambulance hit an icy area on U.S. 2, sideswiped a sport utility vehicle on the shoulder of the road, then clipped a guardrail and rolled in the ditch.

Othoudt, of Remer, died from injuries he suffered in the crash. The ambulance driver and a paramedic weren’t seriously hurt.

In a statement, Med-1 operations director Timothy George said the company “would never knowingly put an ambulance in service that is not safe.”

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