Memorial Service Set for Ohio EMS Crew
ANTWERP, OHIO -- A memorial service for three EMS personnel killed in a fiery crash here last week will be held Friday at the local high school.
Sammy R. Smith, 64, Heidi McDougall, 31, and Kelly J. Rager, 25, volunteers with Antwerp EMS, were killed in the collision with a semi that also claimed the lives of their patients, Robert R. Wells, 64, and Armelda Wells, 60, of Hicksville.
Visitation for the Antwerp EMS crew will be held from 2- 9 p.m. Thursday at the Antwerp High School.
A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m. Friday at the school.
The Dooley Funeral Home is handling the arrangements.
Another EMT injured in the crash, Matt McDougall, 31, was released from the hospital Monday. The truck driver, Gerald Chapman, 54, of Indiana, also was hurt.
The crash occurred while the ambulance was transporting the couple who had been involved in an unrelated wreck.
Following interviews with witnesses, the Ohio State Highway Patrol reported Monday that the commercial truck was already in the intersection when it was struck by the ambulance.
Upon impact, the rig's fuel tank was ruptured and the ambulance burst into flames.
The ambulance was headed south on county road 87, while the commercial truck was traveling east on 176, according to the police report.
The tragedy has stunned this community of 1,650.
Fire Chief Ray Friend said Monday that calls of sympathy and support have come from personnel all over the country. "It's just been unreal. They say they are feeling our pain. Some have lost members."
The fire and EMS companies are separate in Antwerp. But, its members work together to serve their residents.
Smith was a member of the fire company as well as the EMS squad. He was driving the ambulance when it crashed.
"Sammy was always the first guy to show up whether it was a fire or a detail or a fund raiser. It didn't make any difference what it was. He didn't hunt or fish. The fire department was a big part of his life."
Friend said he knows Kelly's parents. "Kelly was in nurses' training, and she was going to graduate soon. She also was studying to be an EMT."
"Heidi had just become a paramedic. I think she was on just her third call as a paramedic. She studied hard."
Heidi, whose husband was hurt in the collision, was the mother of five.
Struggling to find words to describe the overwhelming response, the chief said: "I think we're all brothers with different mothers."
