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A 56-year-old Island EMS paramedic who died in a collision Tuesday is being remembered by his friends and colleagues as an inspirational, dedicated and community minded person.
Mike MacKenzie was driving an ambulance that collided with a transport truck in New Brunswick near the Confederation Bridge on Tuesday morning.
Tim Jenkins, interim chief of the Charlottetown Fire Department, called MacKenzie a close friend who loved being with and helping others.
“In emergency services, we see a lot of tragedy and a lot of death, but when it’s one of your own, I can tell you this one hits completely differently than others,” Jenkins said.
“I think he’s one of the reasons my daughter became a paramedic. He very much spoke about paramedicine and helping people all the time. So he was just a great all-around guy and he will be sorely missed.”
The collision claimed the lives of MacKenzie, from Warren Grove, a 23-year-old woman from Nine Mile Creek and a 77-year-old woman from Montague.
It happened just after 9 a.m. in the community of Melrose, N.B., around 12 km southwest of the Confederation Bridge near Port Elgin.
CBC News has not been able to confirm the name of the 77-year-old woman, and is not naming the 23-year-old woman — another paramedic in the ambulance — at the request of her family.
The driver of the transport truck was brought to the hospital with what police believed to be non-life-threatening injuries.
Cpl. Luc Picard, media relations officer with the Codiac Regional RCMP in New Brunswick, said an investigation into what took place is ongoing.
“We had a lot of our partners attending the scene, including the coroners and the reconstructionist from the RCMP,” Picard said. “We are really doing a thorough investigation to make sure that we understand what happened.”
Chris Hood, executive director of the Paramedic Association of New Brunswick, said hundreds of paramedics from that province have volunteered to come to P.E.I. to help backfill at Island EMS.
“They want to help their brothers and sisters in the Island take the time they need and grieve the way they need to grieve and be there to support them,” Hood said.
Island EMS said in a statement Wednesday that it’s focused on supporting staff, family members and everyone affected by the loss, saying the impact will be felt for “a long time to come.”
“We are grateful to the EMS teams in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia who responded immediately to support Island EMS and all those affected,” the statement reads.
“Their professionalism, compassion, and unwavering commitment to their colleagues during such a difficult time reflect the very best of the paramedic profession.”
Jason Woodbury, president of the union that represents Island paramedics, said the incident has left the province’s first responders “in disbelief.”
“It’s going to take some time for us to grieve and take the time to reflect,” he said.
“They’ve given so much, you know, one individual volunteered in several other areas in the community…. They were part of the EMS and the first-responder community, and we’re a tight-knit community.”
Woodbury said supports are available for first responders as they grapple with the news.
“It’s not only this province that’s grieving, it’s this country that’s grieving. When we lose first responders in the line of duty, it’s difficult,” he said.
“We come to work to serve. We see some horrific incidents and when it’s our own … the whole first-responder community here on Prince Edward Island, from police to conservation officers to fire and EMS, is going to grieve for quite some time.”
