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Rushville, Indiana, Crew Remembered
The three Rushville, Ind., Air Evac Lifeteam crew members who were killed Sunday afternoon in rural Indiana are being remembered by their peers for their talent, dedication, and commitment to the mission of saving lives in their local communities.
Base Pilot Supervisor Roger Warren, 43, Base Manager/flight paramedic Wade Weston, 38, and flight nurse Sandra Pearson, 38, were killed when their aircraft crashed near the community of Burney, Ind. The three crew members were en route back to their base after attending an event at the Burney Volunteer Fire Department. There was no patient on board.
The cause of the crash is unknown and is under investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
Warren, who joined Air Evac in June, 2006, was described by Brazil, Ind., Program Director Tim Lowe as a “funny, comical guy who loved to sing karaoke. He was an excellent pilot and very popular with the other crew members.”
The Otsego, Mich., native first started his work with Air Evac at the Effingham, Ill. base, but then became the Base Pilot Supervisor for the Rushville base. Regional Maintenance Manager Lendon Kok, who served in the U.S. Army with Warren, said his friend of 23 years was “a lot of fun. Everybody loved him. He was intelligent, very safety conscious and a very good mechanic as well.”
“He received his pilot’s license at a very young age, and he loved to fly,” said Kok. “He was the life of the party.”
“Sandi” Pearson started working for Air Evac in July, 2002, beginning her career at the Springfield, Ill., base as nurse supervisor. She worked at the Washington, Brazil, and Paoli, Ind. bases, before settling at Rushville.
She was described by friend and fellow flight nurse Samantha McCarty as “the kindest soul that anyone would ever know. She would do anything for anybody. She always said she loved her kids, loved her mom, and loved her job.” McCarty said Pearson often followed up with the patient’s family following a flight, and “touched the lives of a lot of patients.”
Lowe described the bubbly Pearson as “a social butterfly” and “one of the best nurses I had.” Her easy-going nature won her many friends, he said. “She was always very animated, and talked with her hands,” Lowe remembered. “She was friends with everybody.”
Pearson, of Avon, Ind., was on the Indiana Association of Air Medical Services Board, as well as the Riley Children’s Hospital Pediatric Committee and the Trauma Performance Improvement Committee at Wishard Hospital in Indianapolis. She was also a proud and devoted mother to her children, Garrett and Gabrielle.
Base Manager Wade Weston of Cambridge City, Ind. was the newest of the three to Air Evac Lifeteam, joining the company in August, 2007. Lowe said Weston was well-known in the state of Indiana as a longtime paramedic - particularly in eastern Indiana – and was a 15-year employee at Fayette Memorial Hospital. He was a former volunteer fireman in Dublin, Ind., and recently completed the registered nurse program.
“Wade was a very bright, funny guy, and he really loved his job. He had a passion for the company, and he had a passion for its mission” said Lowe. Weston was also a devoted husband and father to his wife and two daughters.
Wade just recently began his duties as base manager for the Rushville base.
Area Manager Jason Spears, who recently completed training with Weston, recalled him for his “love for his job, his great work ethic, and for being a family man that his crews respected. He will be missed.”
“The loss of these three crewmembers is devastating to all of us here at Air Evac Lifeteam,” said Air Evac President Seth Myers. “Roger, Sandi and Wade dedicated their lives to this company and the people they served, and did their jobs with great pride and professionalism.
“Our focus at this time is taking care of their families and our employees and supporting them through this tragedy, as well as working to determine what may have caused this accident so we can prevent this from happening again,” he added.
“As the largest independently owned and operated air medical provider in the country, operating 79 bases in 13 states, our crews will fly more than 50,000 flight hours by year’s end. Because of the number of flight hours we will fly, our exposure is high. As the Air Evac Lifeteam management team, we are committed to doing everything we can to make sure our crews are properly trained and equipped to minimize those risks.
“Safety takes top priority in our operations. Being safe is integral to our ability to provide our patients with the quality medical care they deserve, and just as important, a safe work environment for our pilots, nurses and paramedics.”
Myers said the support the company has received from the communities they serve has been tremendous. “We have been inundated with phone calls and messages from people expressing sympathy and showing their support for the service we provide.
“We are committed to continuing our mission of providing increased access to emergency health care for the people of rural America,” he noted. “It is a mission all of us here at Air Evac Lifeteam take seriously and one we are dedicated to carrying out.”
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