Accident follows Day County, ND, ambulance fire on Hwy

Two paramedics and their patient safely escaped a fire that gutted their ambulance on a rural stretch of a North Dakota highway over the weekend.

But a crash in the rescue vehicle left one driver seriously injured and another charged with driving under the influence.

When the Day County ambulance crew realized there was a fire, they removed their patient from the ambulance, according to Keoland.

Northbound lanes were closed while the fire was extinguished.

Northbound I-29 was closed while the fire was extinguished.

An ambulance from the Breckenridge-Wahpeton Department came to transport the original patient.

As traffic on I-29 was stopped, a BMW 335 driven by Donald Lawuya, 28, failed to stop and struck the rear of a Mazda CX-5.

The Mazda was pushed forward into a Ford F-150, which in turn was pushed forward into a Subaru Forester.

The driver of the Mazda was transported to Fargo with serious, life-threatening injuries.

Lawuya was arrested for DUI, DUI-Refusal and Driving Under Suspension.

Highway Patrol Capt. Bryan Niewind told media that the fire crash created “a very chaotic environment,” noting that the incident required responses from the Highway Patrol, fire and emergency medical services in a rather rural area.

He said this has led to a huge drain on resources, the majority of which are volunteers.