An 80-year-old nursing home resident died of severe burns she received while on a motorized scooter in Ely, officials said Tuesday.
The victim, Marjorie Jane Hible, “was fully engulfed before staff members were able to get [her] off the scooter,” according to an Ely police statement.
Preliminary findings suggest that smoking likely caused the fire, though the State Fire Marshal’s Office was continuing to investigate.
The incident occurred late Monday afternoon outside the Boundary Waters Care Center in Ely, police said. A 911 call sent emergency personnel to the facility shortly after 4:30 p.m.
Hible was taken to Ely Hospital and then transferred by air ambulance to a Duluth hospital, where she died, police said. One nursing home staff member suffered noncritical injuries but did not require hospital admission.
The motorized scooter was intended to help with mobility issues, according to Ely Assistant Police Chief Mike Lorenz.
Members of Hible’s family declined to comment Wednesday.
