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Plow escorts Iowa ambulance with expectant mom

By Tony Leys
The Des Moines Register

DES MOINES, Iowa — Sierra Van Ersvelde took one of the hairiest rides anyone in Iowa experienced during Tuesday night’s blizzard.

Van Ersvelde, 34 weeks pregnant with her second child, spent more than two hours in the back of an ambulance as it crawled from Grinnell to Des Moines with state snowplows escorting it the whole way.

Van Ersvelde, 23, of Grinnell, started having contractions that were so strong she couldn’t stand up. An ambulance took her to Grinnell Regional Medical Center, but because she has a rare blood condition, officials decided she needed to go to a bigger hospital.

Full story: Weather ruled out helicopter ride