In the early morning hours of July 29, 2016, the airplane flight paramedic Michelle Tarwater was on crashed near McKinnleyville, California.
Michelle, pilot Larry Mills, flight nurse Deborah Kroon, and a patient all perished. Tarwater “lived larger than life.” Her priorities were, “her work, her faith, and her family.”
She was a flight paramedic with Cal-Ore Life Flight in Brookings, Oregon, since 2011, fulfilling her life’s passion in EMS.
Her work ethic has been described as dedicated, committed, professional, caring, and humorous. In a letter written to her mother in 2011, Tarwater wrote, “I went out with my boots on. I’m doing what I love, and I’m okay with that.”