Long Recoveries Ahead for EMT, Paramedic Injured in Minn. Ambulance Crash

Jan. 21--A crash on a Wright County road involving an SUV and an ambulance carrying a patient during a snowstorm has left two medical workers facing long recoveries and another person badly injured, officials said.

The head-on collision occurred shortly before 1:30 a.m. Saturday on County Road 35 near Eaken Avenue NE. in Buffalo Township, according to the Sheriff's Office.

Emergency medical technician Tim Daly, 43, of Albertville, Minn., and paramedic Brian Nagel, 30, of Greenwood, were among the injured, according to Allina Health, the ambulance's operator. Both were taken to Buffalo Hospital, with Nagel being transferred to North Memorial Medical Center in Robbinsdale and listed in critical condition Monday.

Authorities say specifics about the crash remain under investigation.

Immediately after the crash, "Tim was driving and did his best to manage the situation, reportedly even attempting to render aid to others, despite the fact that he himself suffered significant" lower-body injuries, Brian LaCroix, president of Allina Health Emergency Medical Services, said in a Facebook posting Sunday night.

Daly, who has been released from the hospital, faces extensive surgery and "has been told to expect up to three months or so living from a wheelchair," LaCroix added.

Nagel is hospitalized in intensive care, breathing with the assistance of a ventilator, and has at his side his parents from Florida and a sister from New York, LaCroix said.

"Brian has a long road ahead, but he has literally thousands of people from across the country pulling and praying for him," LaCroix said.

The SUV's driver, Marilyn Paumen, 51, of Monticello, Minn., was taken directly to North Memorial, the Sheriff's Office said. Her condition also was critical Monday, a hospital spokeswoman said.

A Caring Bridge page kept by Paumen's family notes that she has severe head injuries, including a blood clot in her brain that prompted a severe stroke. She also has many broken bones and a collapsed lung.

The Allina patient, Laura Worley, 35, of St. Michael, Minn., was moved to a replacement ambulance and continued on to Buffalo Hospital.

Paul Walsh -- 612-673-4482

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