Flags fly at half-staff for fallen EMT

INDIANAPOLIS (WTHI) - Officials say one EMT has died after an ambulance was involved in an accident early Saturday morning.

Officers say the ambulance was struck by a passenger car while going through the intersection of Senate Avenue and St. Clair around 3:37 a.m. The ambulance had the right of way.

When crews arrived on scene, they found an ambulance on its side. The force of the impact caused the ambulance to slide into a parked vehicle.

Responding crews extricated the driver and passenger in the ambulance. There were no other passengers in the ambulance.

Initial investigation shows a black Honda was traveling westbound on St. Clair when it struck the ambulance. The driver of the car was not injured in the incident.

According to a police report, the female driver of the car, who has been identified as 21-year-old Jade Hammer, had the smell of alcohol on her breath when officers talked to her after the accident.

She was transported to Wishard Memorial Hospital for a blood draw, which is standard procedure.

No one has been taken into custody for the accident at this time.

At a noon press conference on Saturday, officials announced IEMS Private Timothy C. McCormick, 24, had died from injuries sustained in the crash.

The second IEMS crew member, who has been identified as 22-year-old Specialist Cody Medley, remains in very critical condition at Wishard Memorial Hospital.

McCormick, a Greenwood resident, joined the IEMS team in June 2010. He had recently attended IUPUI, was an Eagle Scout, and took part in many health fairs educating people about CPR.

MOURNING A LOSS

Saturday night, friends and loved ones had left flowers, stuffed animals, and notes behind at the crash scene in memory of McCormick.

"(He) was an amazing human being, had done a tremendous amount of community outreach for us, was always a vibrant representative for our service and loved his job. Absolutely loved his job at the end of the day," said Dr. Charles Miramonti, Director of the Indianapolis EMS. "This is not easy."

City-County President Maggie Lewis released a statement on the tragedy:

Our thoughts and prayers are with families of the ambulance driver who was tragically killed and the medic who was injured in this morning’s accident.  Emergency responders dedicate their lives to caring for the health and safety of everyone in our community.  The loss of life in the line of duty is a reminder of how precious life is and that we must live everyday to its fullest.

McCormick made an inspirational Youtube video with the title "It Gets Better 2.0". Watch the video below.

 

Saturday afternoon, Mayor Greg Ballard also released a statement regarding the accident:

"This is a terrible loss for Indianapolis EMS and our city. Our thoughts and prayers are with our public safety community and with the families. When we are most in need, IEMS takes care of us. Now it is our time as a community to take care of them. "

Multiple resources are being made available to the IEMS staff throughout the Department of Public Safety, Midtown Mental Health Center's crisis support team and the IEMS Employee Assistance Program.

Funeral arrangements for McCormick are pending.

Mayor Greg Ballard has directed flags at all City-County facilities to be flown at half-staff to honor McCormick. Flags will remains at half-staff until sunset of the day of Private McCormick's internment.

Mayor Ballard is also asking local businesses and residents to lower their flags at half-staff.

Indianapolis EMS tweeted the following picture Saturday evening:

In memory of Private Timothy C. McCormick twitter.com/IndianapolisEM…

— Indianapolis EMS (@IndianapolisEMS) February 16, 2013