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3 EMTs injured during ambulance rollover

A Sauk Prairie ambulance was taking a curve when the combination of ice and harsh winds pushed it off the road

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Susan Endres
WiscNews

SAUK COUNTY, Wis. — A Sauk Prairie ambulance rolled over while responding to a different rollover crash Thursday morning, resulting in injuries for the three emergency responders on board.

After the ambulance rolled over, “it got kind of crazy for a minute just trying to get from point A to point B with the roads,” Sauk County Sheriff’s Office Lt. James Hodges said. “That slushy storm didn’t help us out any.”

The ambulance was dispatched to the first crash on Highway 12, north of Highway Z in the town of Sumpter, at about 10:18 a.m. Thursday. About 10 minutes later, the crew reported their own vehicle had rolled over on Highway 78, south of Highway Z in the town of Prairie. There were no patients in the ambulance.

According to a press release from the Sauk County Sheriff’s Office, the ambulance was driving north on Highway 78 with its emergency lights and siren on when it started to slip on slush and ice while negotiating a curve. Buffeted by strong winds, the vehicle slid onto the shoulder and overturned onto its right side.

An oncoming vehicle avoided the ambulance by driving off the road into a field, but was not damaged and the driver was not injured.

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The three emergency medical technicians in the ambulance were transported to Sauk Prairie Health Care for non-life-threatening injuries. Two were wearing seat belts, but the third — in the patient compartment — was not. Their names are being withheld, according to the release.

No one was injured in the first crash, which Hodges said also ended with the vehicle tipped onto its side. Baraboo EMS responded to the Highway 12 crash after the first ambulance crashed.

Hazardous and variable road conditions, plus high winds and speed were factors in both crashes, according to the release. Between the two incidents, Sauk Prairie, Baraboo and Waunakee sent ambulances, and Sauk City Fire Department and Baraboo Fire Department sent rescue units. The sheriff’s office also responded to both crashes and was assisted at the ambulance crash scene by the Sauk Prairie Police Department.

The Sauk County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the ambulance crash.

Highway 78 was closed for about two hours due to the crash, Hodges said.

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