Gov. Christie Orders Flags At Half-Staff For EMT Killed In Crash
TRENTON, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- Gov. Chris Christie has ordered that flags be flown at half-staff Friday at all state buildings in honor of an EMT who was killed while responding to a call Saturday.
Spotswood EMT Hinal Patel was killed when a car collided with the ambulance she was the passenger in while it went through an intersection with lights and sirens on in East Brunswick.
The accident happened just before 8 a.m. at the intersection of Ryders Lane and Cranbury Road.
Authorities said the ambulance was on its way to assist at an auto accident when the crash occurred. No patients were in the ambulance at the time.
The ambulance overturned and slid into a Subaru that was stopped at the light.
The 24-year-old ambulance driver, Mark Seube, and the driver of the other car, 58-year-old Kathleen Meade, suffered non-life threatening injuries. Both were treated at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital.
Spotswood EMS Director Miriam Barbarise said Patel was on her final shift as an EMT. She was expected to return to Rutgers University -- where she graduated with a degree in cell biology and neuroscience -- in the fall for her masters degree in biomedical science.
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