Ambulance Crashes enroute to Crash

Sauk County Sheriff’s Office

News Release

April 11, 2019

On Thursday, April 11, 2019, at about 10:18 a.m., the Sauk County Communications Center dispatched Sauk Prairie Ambulance to a rollover crash on USH 12 north of CTH Z in the township of Sumpter, Sauk County.  At about 10:27 a.m. Sauk Prairie Ambulance advised via radio that they had been in an accident on STH 78 south of CTH Z in the township of Prairie.  They said they had rolled over, and the crew were injured.

Additional ambulances from Sauk Prairie, Baraboo, and Waunakee were dispatched as well as rescue units from Sauk City Fire Department and Baraboo Fire Department to handle the two separate incidents.  The Sauk County Sheriff’s Office responded to both crashes and was assisted at the ambulance crash scene by the Sauk Prairie Police Department.

The initial investigation regarding the ambulance crash indicated the crew of three Emergency Medical Technicians were negotiating a curve north bound on STH 78 in emergency mode with their emergency lights and siren activated.  The ambulance began to side slip on the slush and ice covered roadway and was further buffeted by strong winds.  The ambulance slid across the roadway and onto the soft gravel shoulder and overturned onto its right side.  A vehicle traveling south bound on STH 78 drove off the road and into a field to avoid colliding with the ambulance.  That vehicle was not damaged, nor was the driver injured.

The three crew members suffered non-life threatening injuries and were transported to Sauk Prairie Health Care for further evaluation and treatment.  Both the operator and passenger in the ambulance were wearing seat belts while the crew member in the patient compartment was not.  The names are being withheld at this time.  The ambulance was not transporting any patients at the time.

Rapidly changing road conditions due to slush and ice, high winds, and speed were factors in both crashes.  No injuries were sustained in the original crash on USH 12.  The STH 78 crash remains under investigation by the Sauk County Sheriff’s Office.  STH 78 was closed for about two hours during the investigation. 

Chip Meister

Sauk County Sheriff