A “send-off” was held Wednesday (Aug. 5) for Joachim-Plattin Ambulance District Paramedic Erik R. Bedwell, 27, of Imperial, who was headed to a hospital out of state for further treatment after suffering serious spinal injuries last month while working in an ambulance transporting a patient to an area hospital.
Bedwell, who was paralyzed from the waist down, left Mercy Hospital St. Louis in Creve Coeur on Wednesday for Craig Hospital in Englewood, Colo., JPAD Administrator Curt Stueve said.
“He flew out about 10 a.m. They’re going to try to rehabilitate him in order to live independently,” Stueve said.
The hospital is the same one where retired Arnold Police Officer Ryan O’Connor went for rehabilitation after he was shot in the head by a burglary suspect in December 2017.
For the send-off, personnel from JPAD and other first responders gathered outside Mercy Hospital St. Louis, with emergency vehicles lined up nearby, and held up signs wishing Bedwell luck on his journey and rehabilitation.
Then, Bedwell was transported by ambulance to Spirit of St. Louis Airport in Chesterfield, where he got on a plane to Colorado.
A fund has been set up at First State Community Bank to benefit Bedwell and Capt. Greg Maguire, 61, of Festus, another JPAD employee who was hurt in the accident.
As of Wednesday, the fund had brought in about $20,000 to help the two, Stueve said.
“We’ve received quite a few donations from the community,” he said.
Stueve said donations may be made to the JPAD Paramedics Recovery Fund through the bank or may be sent to JPAD House 6, 1235 Truman Blvd., Crystal City, 63019. Donations also may be made through PayPal.
“We’re also doing a monthly raffle for them,” Stueve said.
He said the district will hold a regular “sportsman raffle” for items like rifles, bows and tents. The first raffle is underway, and about 2,000 tickets, which cost $20 each, have been sold.
“You can buy the raffle tickets at (JPAD House 6) or by contacting JPAD employees or by going to the JPAD Facebook page,” Stueve said.
The accident that left the two JPAD employees hurt happened July 12 on I-55 just north of Hwy. Z near Pevely, where a 60-year-old Arnold woman reportedly was driving a 1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee north on the interstate and traveled from one lane into another, striking the ambulance, which then ran off the left side of the road and struck a guardrail before traveling into the grass median, where it struck a cable median barrier and overturned, the Missouri State Highway Patrol reported.
The woman was arrested for suspicion of driving while intoxicated following the crash, which also left her moderately injured, the highway patrol reported.
Bedwell was not wearing a seat belt because he was treating a patient in the back of the ambulance.
Maguire, who was driving and wearing a seat belt, also suffered serious spinal injuries but was able to return home to recuperate, Stueve said.
The patient in the JPAD ambulance, a 48-year-old Herculaneum man, suffered a fractured leg in the accident, authorities reported.