Honorees

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Year Honored
1997
Honoree
Carlos W Dillon
Agency
Kanawha Co Emergency Ambulance Authority
Agency City
Charleston
Agency State
WV
Last Call
12/16/82
Cause of Death
Medical Aviation Accident
Biography
December 1982 marked the 6-month anniversary of Medevac; an experimental project designed to transport West Virginia patients in need of specialized treatment via helicopter to larger medical facilities. Carlos, a 34-year-old paramedic, was the director of the Kanawha County paramedic crew who had volunteered to accompany the emergency flights.<br /> <br /> Thursday night, December 16, 1982, found Carlos Dillon volunteering to assist pilot Captain Bill Stone in transporting critically ill Alfred Shahan from Elkins to Charleston for treatment of kidney failure, shock and pneumonia. Nine minutes into the flight, the emergency medical evacuation helicopter disappeared. For the next two days, a growing influx of rescue workers searched for the downed helicopter, scouring the rugged terrain with air and ground crew. Hope was high since both Carlos Dillon and Bill Stone were well-trained professionals versed in survival techniques.<br /> <br /> That hope was put out when the wreckage of the Medevac unit was finally sited and recovered the following Saturday morning along Cheat Mountain 13 miles south of Elkins. All three men appeared to have died on impact. Severe weather conditions including "icing" were determined to be the cause of the accident.<br /> <br /> Carlos was the medical coordinator for and assistant director of the Kanawha Co. Emergency Ambulance Authority. He had been with the team at Kanawha since 1980. Ironically, it was Carlos who had been instrumental in starting the West Virginia Medevac System. He was survived by his wife and two young sons, ages 7 and 4.<br /> <br /> Honored 1997