| Year Honored | |
|---|---|
| 1998 | |
| Honoree | |
| Kevin M. Ritchie | |
| Agency | |
| Jan-Care Ambulance Service, Inc | |
| Agency City | |
| Beckley | |
| Agency State | |
| West Virginia | |
| Last Call | |
| 11/15/1997 | |
| Cause of Death | |
| Other Trauma | |
| Biography | |
| On November 15, 1997, Jan-Care Ambulance Medic 7, stationed in Fayetteville, West Virginia, responded to a two vehicle accident on an ice and snow coveted bridge: Kevin Ritchie, 34, an eight-year veteran paramedic with Jan-Care exited his ambulance and began assessing the people involved in the accident. while EMS personnel and bystanders were preparing to dispense emergency flares, three additional vehicles lost control and slid into the vehicles and the ambulance.In an attempt to avoid the on-coming vehicles, Kevin accidentally fell from the 300-foot high span. His body was recovered by Jan-Care and fire department personnel. He was pronounced dead at the hospital.Beginning his EMS and firefighting career in high school, he remained active in EMS for over 16 years. Kevin was a certified EMT, a firefighter, a Mobile Intensive Care Paramedic and a nationally registered paramedic.Kevin often held ambulance show-and-tell seminars for area grade schools and taught hundreds of CPR and Advanced First Aid classes. He received the prestigious American Heart Association Phoenix Award for the success fill resuscitation of a patient in cardiac arrest.He is survived by his wife, Gloria, three stepchildren and three grandchildren.Honored 1998 |
The United States Official National EMS Memorial Service
