A car and an ambulance collided head-on on Highway 55 near Glenwood Tuesday evening, injuring four people and leaving the car's 76-year-old driver in critical condition. The crash happened at 5:34 p.m. about three miles southeast of Glenwood, near the intersection with 185th Avenue.
According to Willmar Radio, Glenwood resident Ronald Dziengel was driving eastbound on Highway 55 when his car collided head-on with an ambulance traveling westbound. Dziengel suffered life-threatening injuries and was transported to St. Cloud Hospital, the outlet reported.
The Minnesota State Patrol believes alcohol may have been a factor for Dziengel, per the report. A state patrol incident page lists the vehicles involved as a Pontiac Grand AM and a Ford Econoline ambulance meeting near 185th Avenue, though the publicly available listing offers only limited detail on the crash.
Ambulance Crew and Passenger Also Hurt
Three people in the ambulance were also injured in the collision, the station's report indicates. Amelia Solomon, an 18-year-old ambulance driver from Crystal, Vivian Mobley, a 21-year-old ambulance passenger from Brooten, and Spencer Sundberg, a 34-year-old ambulance passenger from Glenwood, all suffered non-life-threatening injuries and were taken to Glenwood Hospital.
In total, four people were hurt in the crash, with one victim suffering critical injuries, the same account notes. The article was authored by JP Cola and published Wednesday.
Another Fatal Head-On Crash Nearby on Highway 55
The Tuesday crash is not the only recent head-on collision on Highway 55 in the Glenwood area. A 57-year-old Glenwood woman died in a separate two-vehicle, head-on crash on Highway 55 in Chippewa Falls Township in Pope County, which happened at 7:57 p.m. on a Sunday, according to wctrib.com.
In that earlier crash, a 2003 Honda Pilot driven by an 18-year-old Willmar man was traveling eastbound on Highway 55 when it collided head-on with a westbound 2010 Toyota Yaris at mile marker 77 in Chippewa Falls Township, wctrib.com reported. Road conditions were wet at the time, according to the crash report cited by the outlet.
