Emergency Responders Handle Moose Incident With Grace And Care

An ambulance was transporting a patient from Ely to Duluth, Minnesota, when it collided with a moose. Unfortunately, the moose died. Luckily, everyone in the ambulance survived and was ok. The transport patient continued on to Duluth on Tuesday.

It's always sad to see a moose die. They are majestic animals that few people ever get to see in the wild. The further North you go in Minnesota, the more likely you are to encounter one, hopefully not on the highway, as moose versus vehicles are never a good thing. Moose are very tall, and when a passenger car hits a moose, it can knock the moose right on top of the car, leading to serious injury or death to occupants.

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In this case, the ambulance hit the moose, and it crashed into the windshield, setting off the airbags, according to the Star Tribune. The ambulance went into the ditch, but remained upright thanks to the driver's training and experience. The crash happened on Highway 169, about 45 miles west of Ely.

Emergency personnel responded to the scene. They were able to get the patient out of the ambulance on a backboard and up the six-foot ditch.

It's sad that the moose died, but it's also good to know that the meat wasn't wasted. They obtained a permit and then divided up the meat from the moose among the personnel. That included Ely Area Ambulance, Morse Fall Lake Fire and First Responders, Ely Police Department, St. Louis County Sheriff's Department, and the Minnesota State Patrol. The unusable meat was donated to the International Wolf Center in Ely.