ELY — Quick-thinking bystanders are being credited with saving a man’s life after a single-vehicle rollover crash Friday afternoon along the Echo Trail near Ely.
The St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office reported that around 2:49 p.m., witnesses heard a crash in the 1500 block of the Echo Trail and saw a vehicle nearly collide with another before veering off the roadway. The vehicle struck a rock ledge, went airborne, and rolled before catching fire.
Several bystanders rushed to the scene and managed to pull the driver from the vehicle moments before it became fully engulfed in flames.
The driver, identified as Jeremy Swanson, 57, of Ely, suffered a head injury. He was first treated at Ely-Bloomenson Community Hospital before being airlifted to a Duluth hospital. His current condition remains unknown. Swanson was the only person in the vehicle.
The crash remains under investigation by the St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office.
Assisting at the scene were the Morse Fall Lake Fire Department and First Responders, Ely Police Department, Ely Ambulance, and the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.