Month: September 2017

On July 29, 2016, pilot Larry Mills, along with flight paramedic Michelle Tarwater, and flight nurse Deborah Kroon were transporting a patient when the Cal-Ore Life Flight fixed wing aircraft crashed north of the Arcata Airport.

All lives on board were lost. Larry was a dedicated pilot with over 20 years of experience. He was quick to smile, and loved karate, animals, all things military, and playing his drums. He especially loved flying. He frequently said that his was the only job in the world where he could do his favorite things: fly and be of service to others.

Harry T. Mesh, 27, of Dorchester, Mass., was killed in the line of duty March 13, 1938, when the ambulance he was in collided with the car on Bay Parkway at 86th Street while responding to an emergency call at 2 a.m, according to the New York Times.

“Police of the Bath Beach Station called a second ambulance for (an ambulance driver who was injured) and Mesh,” the New York Times article reads in part.

Mesh was serving an internship as a surgeon with New York City emergency ambulance at Harbor Hospital in Brooklyn, New York. He had been with the Harbor Hospital 10 months.

On December 17, 2016, Charles “Vachel” McMahan, a paramedic supervisor with Tri-State Ambulance, was transporting a patient from Wheeling, West Virginia, to Cambridge, Ohio, with a crew of four.

Near Cambridge, the ambulance encountered black ice causing it to lose control and roll several times. Both McMahan and the patient were killed.

McMahan started working for Tri-State Ambulance in 2013 and had recently been made division manager. He was loyal. compassionate, and generous. His strong hand, kind demeanor, talent, skills, and smile will be missed by all.

John F. Lynch Worcester EMS/UMASS Memorial Medical Center Worcester, Massachusetts John F. Lynch, 60, died December 5, 2016. He was a former paramedic at UMass Memorial Medical Center.

Lynch was a liver and kidney transplant recipient in 1984, having contracted hepatitis C when he was bitten by a heroin addict whose life he was saving. He was known for being a true gentleman and a credit to his profession.