SPRINGFIELD, Colo. — The director of the Southeast Colorado Hospital Ambulance Service was killed in the line of duty Friday night.
Rick Hartley, 63, was riding in the back of an ambulance transporting a 96-year-old patient when the ambulance collided with a tractor, KKTV reported.
The force of the impact sent the ambulance in the opposite lane of traffic, where it rolled off the road and ended on its top.
Hartley suffered critical injuries in the crash and died shortly after arriving at the hospital.
Hartley had been in EMS for 32 years and as EMS director for 23 years. His friends remember him as a hero who spent his life caring for others.
“He was the ambulance guy since I can remember,” said a friend who asked to remain anonymous. “He has helped young and old, very professional when he had a patient, just went out of his way to make them feel calm and safe.”
The EMS provider who was driving the ambulance, Larry Miller, 74, as well as the patient, James Wyatt, sustained minor injuries.
The crash is under investigation. State patrol said both vehicles involved were traveling in the same direction.