Two Dead, Two Injured in Itasca County Crash

Two people have died and two more are seriously injured after a crash involving a dump truck and an ambulance in Itasca County.

According to the Minnesota State Patrol, on Tuesday, June 8 at 10:21 AM, a Meds-1 Ambulance was traveling southbound on County Road 336 and a dump truck was eastbound on County Road 57. The collision occurred in the intersection when the dump truck struck the ambulance on the passenger side in a T-bone-style crash.

The two passengers in the ambulance were 51-year-old Troy Boettcher of Warba and 17-year-old Joseph Latimer of Grand Rapids, who were both killed on the scene. Boettcher was not wearing a seat belt. The ambulance driver, 28-year-old Kimberly Hake of Cohasset, was treated for life-threatening injuries at Grand Itasca Hospital in Grand Rapids.

The man driving the dump truck was 67-year-old Jeffery Ekholm of Nashwauk. He was transported to St. Luke’s in Duluth for life-threatening injuries.

The crash happened at the same intersection where DNR officer Sarah Grell was killed on May 24 when a semi truck struck her vehicle.

The Minnesota State Patrol was assisted by Itasca Sheriffs Office, Meds-1, Nashwauk PD, Ambulance and Fire, Bovey PD, Balsam Fire, Deer River Essentia EMS, LifeLink, and North Memorial Aircare.