By Paul Walsh, Star Tribune (Minneapolis)
March 30--A drunken woman chomped down and broke a paramedic's finger during a late-night ambulance ride, leading to felony charges against her.
Elanna L. Ostertag, 21, of Minneapolis, was charged Thursday in Hennepin County District Court with third-degree assault and fourth-degree assault. She remained jailed Friday in lieu of $20,000 bail.
The bite on the paramedic's right index finger, inflicted early Wednesday, was so severe that it broke the fingernail and the bone, police said. The nail had to be removed, and the paramedic's hand was placed in a cast.
The paramedic, taken off duty while he heals, will have to undergo a regimen of antibiotics and tests for disease.
According to the criminal complaint:
About 1:30 a.m., paramedics from Hennepin County Medical Center (HCMC) and police responded to a report of a woman slumped in a vehicle near Lake Street and Harriet Avenue S., her head out the window and vomit on the street near the car. They found Ostertag slumped unconscious and her head resting on the steering wheel. Found to be extremely drunk, Ostertag was transported to HCMC in an ambulance.
Ostertag regained consciousness on the trip and became angry at the paramedics and began spitting at them. A spit hood was put on her head, but she tried to remove it. As a paramedic attempted to replace the hood, she bit his finger.
Paul Walsh --612-673-4482
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©2013 the Star Tribune (Minneapolis)
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