By Shereen Siewert
Police are continuing to investigate the death of a 72-year-old man who died in an ambulance that was struck in downtown Wausau and overturned, injuring several people.
Just after 6 p.m. Wednesday, Everest Metro and Riverside Fire responded to Grand Avenue near Cawley Street in Schofield for a report that a pedestrian was struck in the roadway by a northbound vehicle. The man was transported by Riverside Ambulance to a local hospital in Wausau.
But en route to the hospital, just about 6:30 p.m., the ambulance driver was traveling westbound on Scott Street and was struck by a northbound Jeep on First Street. The ambulance overturned and the patient died at the scene. Several additional injuries were reported among both the ambulance personnel and passengers inside the Jeep, though none were life-threatening, police said.
Everest Metro, with assistance from the Marathon County Crash Reconstruction Team, are investigating the pedestrian crash, while Wausau Police are spearheading the ambulance crash investigation. In a news release, Wausau Police confirmed the ambulance was being operated in emergency mode when the crash happened.
“As a result of the investigation, the operator of the ambulance was cited for failure to obey a red traffic signal,” said Wausau Police Chief Ben Bliven, in a news release.
Initial emergency scanner reports, which are often contradicted through later investigation, indicated the pedestrian who was struck was a woman, not a man.
No names have been released and the investigation remains active.
