TWO PERSONS DEAD AFTER TRUCK STRIKES AMBULANCE

POPLAR BLUFF -- Two people were killed Wednesday when a pickup truck collided head-on with an ambulance on Route 53, eight miles south of Poplar Bluff.

The Missouri Highway Patrol said a pickup truck driven by Douglas Ratliff, 30, of Poplar Bluff was northbound at about 12:30 p.m. when it crossed the center line and struck a southbound ambulance from Doctor's Hospital in Poplar Bluff.

Killed were Edward Brannum, 35, of Poplar Bluff, a passenger in Ratliff's vehicle, and Clarence Tuttle, 73, of Malden, who was being transferred from Poplar Bluff to Malden. Brannum was pronounced dead at the scene, and Tuttle died at 3:17 p.m. at Lucy Lee Hospital in Poplar Bluff.

Ratliff was taken to Lucy Lee Hospital in Poplar Bluff with moderate injuries, and the driver of the ambulance, David Carter, 36, of Poplar Bluff was taken to Doctor's Hospital with minor injuries, the patrol said.

Also injured in the wreck were Ella Tuttle, 73, of Malden and Gena Birdwell, 31, of Qulin. Tuttle, a passenger in the ambulance, was taken to Doctor's Hospital with minor injuries, and Birdwell, the attendant in the ambulance, was evacuated by helicopter to St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau with serious injuries, the patrol said.

She subsequently was transferred to Barnes Hospital in St. Louis, where a condition report was unavailable late Wednesday night.

The highway patrol said the ambulance was on a "routine, non-emergency" transfer, and did not have its lights flashing or sirens on. Only Baker and Ella Tuttle were wearing seat belts.