EMS HELICOPTER CRASHES IN NEW MEXICO-ONE CREW MEMBER WAS A FORMER FF/MEDIC FROM NJ The Secret List www.FireFighterCloseCalls.com We regret to pass on that a medical helicopter carrying three crew members has crashed in eastern New Mexico.
The Federal Aviation Administration said the helicopter disappeared
from radar early Thursday morning and went down near Newkirk. Ranch
workers found the wreckage after they were asked to look around. New Mexico State Police didn't immediately disclose the conditions of the three crew members on board.
However, the ranch manager says he saw no survivors when he and another
ranch employee found the burning wreckage on the side of a mesa.
The FAA said the cause of the crash is unknown. It said the helicopter
was flying from Santa Fe to pick up a patient in Tucumcari. Bullhead City, Arizona-based TriState CareFlight LLC confirmed it owned and operated the helicopter.
=ONE CREW MEMBER IDENTIFIED
Paramedic
Rebecca Serkey, 36, was one of three members killed in the Line of Duty
when the chopper crashed around 0300 about 135 miles east of
Albuquerque, a flight nurse in Nevada and a local EMT who had plans to
get together with her this weekend confirmed.
“She
was a tremendous asset to every department that she worked for and has
touched so many lives!†wrote the Ridgefield (NJ) Volunteer Ambulance
Corps, one of many she worked for in her career. “She will be truly
missed!â€
Paramedic Serkey and fellow members of her TriState CareFlight crew, based in Arizona, were well known in the area.
“These
crew members were our colleagues, our friends and our neighbors,†the
hospital said in statement. “Our hearts, and our prayers, go out to the
loved ones of these extraordinary individuals, who were committed to
saving lives every single day.â€
Serkey, a nationally certified paramedic who began her career in Bergen County, NJ, joined the CareFlight team in July 2012.
She
previously worked for Saint Clare’s Health System in Dover, Denville,
Boonton, Sussex and Hacketstown, as a lab instructor at Rockland (NY)
Community College in Suffern and as a paramedic with UMDNJ in Newark and
Holy Name Medical Center in Teaneck, NJ.
A
self-described “adrenaline junkie,†Serkey studied police science at
John Jay College in Manhattan and was an active SCUBA diver.
“I
love my jobs and my volunteering I wouldn’t give it up,†she once said.
“I work ridiculous hours sometimes, but people do not wait until 9 AM
to get sick or hurt.â€
A
former pool lifeguard and camp counselor, Serkey also was an EMT with
Fort Lee (NJ) for eight years, with Holy Name for four years and with
Ridgefield for a year.
Serkey
was corps secretary, training officer, crew chief and driver for the
Leonia (NJ) Volunteer Ambulance Corps from May 2003 to September 2007
and a probationary firefighter with the Leonia Volunteer Fire Department
from March 2006 through December 2007.
She also was driver and EMT crew chief with the Palisades Park (NJ) Volunteer Ambulance Corps from April 2005 to November 2006.
Our condolences to all affected.
Take Care. Be Careful. Pass It On.
BillyG
The Secret List 7-17-14/2200 hrs
www.FireFighterCloseCalls.com...