2nd Ind. medic dies from ambulance-crash injuries

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — A second medic died early Sunday from injuries sustained when a car collided with an ambulance that was not on an emergency run and had the right of way in downtown Indianapolis, authorities said.

Paramedic Cody Medley, 22, of Indianapolis, died about 3 a.m. Sunday at Wishard Hospital, said Dr. Charles Miramonti, Indianapolis Emergency Medical Services chief. The driver of the ambulance, 24-year-old Tim McCormick from the Indianapolis suburb of Greenwood, died Saturday.

"These first responders were devoted to helping others and risked their own lives to do so every day on the job," Mayor Greg Ballard said. "We stand by our IEMS family to give them strength in this time of grief."

The accident happened near the Statehouse shortly after 3:30 a.m. Saturday, when traffic lights downtown were flashing. The ambulance had the right of way, police said, because it had a flashing yellow traffic signal. The traffic signal for the car was flashing red.

Both medics were wearing seatbelts, police said.

The car's 21-year-old driver was released following a routine blood-alcohol test, police said.

A police officer who was the first to arrive at the scene said the woman was crying and said: "Oh my God. I can't believe this is happening. I can't believe I was in this accident."

Medley, who was originally from Scranton, Pa., had been with the Indianapolis EMS since June 2010 and had previously been a member of the Sunman Fire Department in Sunman, Ind.

Miramonti said Medley was a skilled paramedic.

"His friends and colleagues described him as a fun and outgoing man who enjoyed his job greatly," Miramonti said at a news conference Sunday.

McCormick, 24, was originally from New York and attended St. Lawrence University and IUPUI.

Public Safety Director Troy Riggs said Saturday that the deaths were the first known line-of-duty death of an emergency services worker in Indianapolis' history.

Ballard called the deaths uncharted territory for the city.

"These folks, people like Cody, take care of all of us in our most difficult situations. We never really expect anything like this to occur to them," he said. "They're just on duty and a tragic accident, an unexplainable accident, takes their lives."

Ballard asked that flags at all City-County facilities be lower to half-staff to honor the paramedics.