Rites Honor Ohio EMTs Killed in Crash

Jul. 28--ANTWERP, Ohio -- Mothers with strollers, elderly people in wheelchairs, young and old toting their own lawn chairs sat along the streets of this Paulding County town yesterday clutching tiny U.S. flags.

The afternoon had all the makings of a Fourth of July parade -- until the procession of ambulances, police motorcycles, and fire trucks began slowly passing through town, red lights flashing.

There were no cheers, just silent reverence as everyone got to their feet and paid their last respects to the three volunteers who died working with the local emergency medical service.

Sammy Ray Smith, 64; Heidi L. McDougall, 31, and Kelly J. Rager, 25, were killed July 20 when the ambulance in which they were riding collided with a tractor trailer just east of their hometown.

The Hicksville, Ohio, couple they were transporting to the hospital also died in the fiery crash.

Such an outpouring of support "is what makes living in a small town worthwhile," Joan Murlin said as she waited in the nearly 90-degree heat for the funeral procession.

After the first three ambulances finally arrived -- each acting as a surrogate hearse -- it took more than 30 minutes for the long line of fire trucks, police cars, and rescue squads from all over Ohio and Indiana to pass through town on their way to the local cemetery.

About the same time, a memorial service for Robert and Armelda Wells, the patients the ill-fated ambulance was transporting, was getting under way in nearby Hicksville.

The horrific crash has shaken the small communities where it seemed everyone knew at least one of the victims.

Lynn Johnsonbaugh of Hicksville waited for two hours for the funeral procession with her daughter and three grandsons. Ms. Johnsonbaugh had attended an EMT class with Mrs. McDougall and knew the Wellses.

"Heidi loved it," she said, referring to the life of an EMT. "It's definitely not something you do for the money. It's just to give back to the community. It's something you get involved with and you love it or you don't."

The mutual sense of pride and responsibility was evident in the hundreds of men and women in uniform who filed into the Antwerp High School gymnasium for a memorial service for Mr. Smith, Mrs. McDougall, and Mrs. Rager.

"We're all brothers and sisters in the service," Monclova Township Firefighter Derek Hughes said simply when asked why so many from so far attended the funeral.

They came from all over northwest Ohio as well as Indiana, Pennsylvania, and New York.

Sixteen bagpipers led the solemn procession into the gym and around the flag-draped caskets. It took more than 10 minutes for the firefighters, paramedics, police officers, and state troopers to file in as the crowd watched in silence.

The Rev. Jim Edwards first paid tribute to Mr. Smith, who was driving the rescue squad -- a job he relished.

"He had an impact on this community. He loved this community," Pastor Edwards said. "I don't know of anyone else more dedicated, more faithful to this job. He took it very serious. He was always ready."

The Rev. Dave Meriwether described Mrs. McDougall as "a real sweet spirit."

"She was strong, humble, full of goodness, a loving wife and mother, willing to serve, willing to give of herself," he said. "I think of Heidi as a caregiver, and, like Sam and Kelly, she died while helping somebody."

Pastor Edwards read a tribute to Mrs. Rager written by her only sister, Brandy Sullivan. She said that as they were growing up, Mrs. Rager was the brave one, the one who comforted her in times like this.

When Mrs. Rager's youngest child became seriously ill a little over a year ago, it changed her life. She joined the EMS and enrolled in nursing school, determined to help people the way her child had been helped.

"I look back now and I wish I'd have told her how proud I was of her," Mrs. Sullivan wrote. "I will now live my life in her honor."

Since the crash, members of the Antwerp fire and rescue department have met every night in an attempt to process the tragedy and begin working through their grief.

Judy Hunt of Antwerp said her daughter, who volunteers with the EMS, initially was ready to turn in her radio after the fatal crash.

She didn't think she could continue, but has decided to stay with it and now wants to go on a run as soon as the department gets back to work.

"She knows the longer she waits, the harder it will be," Mrs. Hunt said.

In town, firefighters already have mounted an effort to raise funds for a memorial to the EMS workers. And, elsewhere, they will be remembered, too.

Donald C. Cooper, chief deputy state fire marshal, told those gathered for the memorial service that the names of Mr. Smith, Mrs. McDougall, and Mrs. Rager would be inscribed on the fire marshal's memorial in Reynoldsburg, Ohio, as well as the National Fire Academy memorial in Emmitsburg, Md.

"These were extraordinary people filled with the volunteer spirit," Mr. Cooper said. "They felt compelled to serve their neighbors at a moment's notice."

Contact Jennifer Feehan at:jfeehan@theblade.comor 419-353-5972.

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