Paramedic, Stillwater Native Killed In Crash Wanted To Work For Doctors Without Borders

A HealthEast paramedic who grew up in Stillwater died Monday after the ambulance she was riding in crashed on Interstate 694 in Brookyln Center. Marina Gayle DeSteno Challeen, 24, lived in Saint Paul but grew up in Stillwater and graduated from Stillwater High School.

The ambulance, returning from a call in Monticello, was eastbound on I-694 and attempting to change lanes to eastbound Interstate 94 when it rear-ended a broken-down semi parked in the shoulder just after 7 p.m., according to the Minnesota State Patrol.

The ambulance driver, Susanna Grace Kelly, age 27, was taken to North Memorial Hospital with non-life threatening injuries. The semi driver, a 44-year-old woman from Temple, Georgia, was not injured in the collision.

Nancy DeSteno, Challeen's niece, told KSTP she first learned about the fatal collision online. About three hours later, state troopers told Challeen's parents the awful news at their Stillwater home. "(Marina) was very much a people person who loved exploring and going to new places," she told the news station.

Challeen hoped to enter medical school and one day work for Doctors Without Borders.

Tributes to Challeen from the law enforcement and EMT community have poured in since her death. "Our thoughts go out to our first responder partners at HealthEast Medical Transportation Team on the loss of Marina Gayledeste Challeen," the Washington County Sheriff's Office said in a statement. "Our deepest condolences to her family."

"She was kind of a tough kid. She was independent and do things her own way," Desteno told KARE 11. "She worked hard at reaching out to people. If she realized someone was upset. She would come up to you and put her arm around you and be close. You know? She was very good at that."

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