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Ambulance crash kills rescuer
Longtime Stafford volunteer dies in ambulance crash in Northern Virginia.Date published: 3/17/2001
Joseph Neal Sherman spent much of his life helping others. He died yesterday doing the same thing. Sherman, 25, a Stafford County resident until about six months ago, was killed when an ambulance he was riding in went out of control and crashed on U.S. 66 in Arlington County. Sherman had volunteered with the Stafford and Aquia Harbour rescue squads for about five years. His father, Billy Sherman, is a former state trooper. Three others, two paramedics and a patient, were injured in the crash, which occurred about 8:15 a.m. According to state police spokeswoman Lucy Caldwell, Sherman was part of a Loudoun-Fairfax Ambulance Service crew that picked up a 64-year-old Ashburn man yesterday morning. The patient was to be transported to Alexandria Hospital for a medical procedure. The ambulance driver, 23-year-old William H. Fare III of Leesburg, was heading east near Fairfax Drive when the ambulance veered to the right and struck a guardrail, Caldwell said. The vehicle went airborne and flipped over several times before landing on its roof on top of a ditch, police said. The vehicle rolled about 300 feet during the wreck, police said. There were no skid marks. Sherman, who was in the back of the ambulance with the patient, was struck by an oxygen tank. Another paramedic, David Carkin, 24, of Fairfax, suffered head injuries. Carkin, Fare and the patient were all transported to George Washington University Hospital, where the patient was placed in intensive care. The conditions of the others weren't immediately available last night. Caldwell said Trooper Vince Dail has determined that speed and fatigue were factors in the crash. Charges against Fare are pending, Caldwell said. Caldwell said accident reconstructionists are looking into "every aspect" of the accident. An autopsy will be performed on Sherman Monday. Stafford fire and rescue Lt. Charlie Robertson said yesterday that Sherman was dedicated, motivated and good with his patients. "We're absolutely shocked," Robertson said. "People take for granted the work these medics do." Sherman lived with his parents until about six months ago, when he married and moved to Manassas. The young man dreamed of following in the footsteps of his father, a retired state police trooper, Robertson said. "He always wanted to be in public safety," Robertson said. "He was a very motivated medic and very sensitive with his patients. We are going to miss him."
Date published: 3/17/2001
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