Flag is rare honor for those fallen in the line of duty.
By Raif Karerat
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WASHINGTON, DC: A week after the funeral of Indian American EMT and student Hinal Patel, the United States Honor Flag has been flown at the Spotswood Municipal Complex in New Jersey as a tribute to the fallen 22-year-old. According to The Honor Network, a nonprofit organization that distributes the flag, since September 2001 it has paid tribute to those who have lost their lives in the line of duty protecting American lives, homes, and the country, and also those who currently serve our communities throughout the nation.
“It is a great honor to have this flag flying in honor of [Patel],” Spotswood EMS Director Miriam Barbarise said to News 12 New Jersey. “She did give her life doing the job that she loved.”
Patel, of Piscataway, New Jersey, and her partner with Spotswood Emergency Services, Mark Seube, 24, were responding to a call on July 25 when their ambulance was t-boned by a Toyota Prius that failed to stop and let them pass.
Patel died in the collision, but Seube and the driver of the Prius, Kathleen Meade, 58, suffered only non-life threatening injuries, according to police.
According to local outlets, Patel was completing her last shift before leaving Spotswood Emergency Service to attend graduate school. She had received her degree in biological sciences from Rutgers earlier this year.
“She was the most amazing person I ever knew,” Bianca Patel, a close friend who is not related, remarked to NJ Advance Media. “She’s saved thousands and thousands of people. … I just wish someone had a chance to help her.”
Hinal Patel planned to pursue medical school to become a physician or physician’s assistant after her graduate program, but she had been working as an EMT for the North Stelton Volunteer Fire Company since September 2012, reported the Daily News.
“She really loved medicine,” her 18-year-old brother, Neel Patel, told NJ Advance Media. “Some people just do this EMT stuff to make it look good on their resume or whatever. But she was truly passionate about [being an] EMT and what she was doing.”
The crash is currently under investigation and no charges have been filed.
1 Comment
Another sad story, Prayers to the family and friends of this hero. Life cut down real short.