Assault at MN Crash Scene Left EMT with Concussion
By Emily Cutts
Source Post-Bulletin, Rochester, Minn.
A Chatfield woman is facing felony charges after police say she assaulted ambulance staff who were called after her vehicle crashed.
Tonia Louis Kruger is charged in Olmsted County District Court with third-degree assault, fourth-degree assault-emergency medical personnel and two gross misdemeanor driving under the influence of alcohol charges. She was ordered to appear in court on May 27.
Olmsted County Sheriff's deputies were called just before 5 p.m. Feb. 9, 2021, to a report of an accident with injuries at the intersection of Olmsted County Road 10 Southeast and 155th Avenue Southeast in Elmira Township.
By the time the deputy arrived, the driver of the vehicle, identified as Kruger, was being extricated from the vehicle.
A witness told deputies that the vehicle had been following her since she turned onto County Road 10 SE from U.S. Highway 52 Southeast in Chatfield. The woman said the vehicle was driving all over the road — swerving over the center line, then onto the shoulder and back. As the vehicles approached 155th Avenue, the woman said the vehicle behind her swerved onto the shoulder, corrected itself and then went airborne and rolled approximately four times into the ditch.
The deputy approached the ambulance where Kruger was being looked after and noted that she was being "uncooperative and belligerent to the EMT staff," according to the criminal complaint. The deputy also reported that he observed Kruger spit on a member of the EMT staff.
While on the way to the hospital, Kruger reportedly kicked an EMT worker in the chest, causing the woman to fall back and strike the left side of her head against the wall. The EMT was later diagnosed with a moderate concussion.
A blood test was taken from Kruger at the hospital and later tested by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. She was found to have a blood alcohol content of 0.179, according to the criminal complaint.
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