Lost In The Line Of Duty
Since 1988, these 8 British Columbia Ambulance Service paramedics have given their lives in the line of duty, while
selflessly serving the citizens of BC. May they rest in peace, for their valiant sacrifices shall not be forgotten. Let no
one underestimate the dangers that our paramedics face every day on the job...
Micheal Gray died suddenly from a medical condition while he and his partner were returning to their station. They had just cleared Vancouver Hospital when Michael collapsed at the wheel causing the ambulance to collide with several parked cars. Michael's partner initiated medical care immediately, but resuscitative efforts assisted by responding PCP and ACP units were not successful.
Kim Weitzel, 44, was assigned to the Kimberley station, where she had worked since February, 2000. Kim and her partner, Shawn Currier, were responding to a call inside a water-testing shed at the decommissioned Sullivan Mine. Both Kim and Shawn, along with mine employees Bob Newcombe and Doug Erickson, were overcome by a low oxygen atmosphere and tragically lost their lives.
Shawn Currier, 21, was assigned to the Kimberley station, where he worked since June, 2005. Shawn and his partner, Kim Weitzel, were responding to a call inside a water-testing shed at the decommissioned Sullivan Mine. Both Shawn and Kim, along with mine employees Bob Newcombe and Doug Erickson, were overcome by a low oxygen atmosphere and tragically lost their lives.
Wendy Thompson, 33, perished when the airevac Learjet she was on went down over the ocean in the early morning hours near Masset, BC. The flight team was en route to transport a pregnant woman to Prince Rupert. Four others also perished - Paramedic Andreas Goedicke, Dr. Jeffrey Dolph, and pilots Daniel Jorgensen and Geir Zinke.
Andreas Goedicke, 40, perished when the airevac Learjet he was on went down over the ocean in the early morning hours near Masset, BC. The flight team was en route to transport a pregnant woman to Prince Rupert. Four others also perished - Paramedic Wendy Thompson, Dr. Jeffrey Dolph, and pilots Daniel Jorgensen and Geir Zinke.
Carol and her partner were returning to their station after a day of working in the Fraser Valley when the ambulance they were in was involved in a tragic accident, striking a rock wall along Highway 1 near Hope, BC.
Theresa Bond, 42, was the Unit Chief at the Atlin station in northwestern British Columbia when she died in a plane crash en route to a Unit Chiefs' meeting in Smithers. Theresa joined the BCAS in 1980 and became the Unit Chief in Atlin in 1987. Sadly, Theresa's husband Dick died only 2 years earlier due to illness. She left three sons in their late teens and early 20's, Brendan, Alexander, and Peter.
Tony Sunderland, 41, collapsed and died of a heart attack while attending to two critical patients from a motor vehicle accident near Endako, BC. Tony was the first British Columbia paramedic to die while on duty. He was married and had two sons.
In The Service Of Others
In addition to the 8 paramedics lost in the line of duty, we also remember Dr. Jeffrey Dolph, pilot Daniel Jorgensen, and pilot Geir Zinke.
While not BC Ambulance Service employees, all 3 were members of a flight team on a medevac learjet that crashed near Masset, BC, in January 1995,
killing all 5 on board (including 2 paramedics).
This page is dedicated to the memory of the men and women of British Columbia's
emergency health care system who gave their lives in the service of others.