2 Michigan firefighters killed in crash identified
Published 9:52 am Monday, August 29, 2016
BLAINE — The Minnesota State Patrol has identified two Michigan firefighters killed when their truck overturned near Minneapolis and injured seven other crew members.
Authorities said the nine firefighters were headed to Utah to fight the Box Canyon fire. The patrol said the truck left Interstate 35W for some unknown reason, struck the median cable barriers and rolled Saturday afternoon.
Twenty-three-year-old James Shelifoe and 25-year-old Alan Swartz, both of Baraga, Michigan, were killed. Officials said the nine others injured are expected to survive.
The Beartown Firefighters crew is based in Baraga and is managed by the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community and the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs.
A post on the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community’s Facebook page reads: “Our hearts are broken and our prayers are with the family members and those injured.”