** Massachusetts man charged after punching female EMT in stomach
** Dead from Saturday air ambulance crash in Texas identified
UNITED STATES NEWS
** A Massachusetts man from New Bedford was arrested Saturday for punching a female paramedic in the face. South Coast Today (May 1) said Jose Lara Rodriguez, 22, was taken into custody around 8:40 p.m. EMS had been hailed to help him after he had been involved in a bar fight. Police said Rodriguez was drunk and unruly prior to hauling off and hitting the practitioner in the stomach. There is no word on the extent of her injuries incurred during the assault. Rodriguez was tagged with assault and battery on ambulance personnel. At press time, a court summons had not yet been issued.
** Authorities in Texas have identified 3 crew members killed Saturday in an air ambulance crash near Amarillo. The Amarillo Globe News (Lisa Lamb/April 30) said the dead include pilot Robin Shaw, as well as flight nurses Misty Nicholson, 38, and Scott Riola. According to the newspaper, information on the home cities and ages for most of the crew remains unavailable. All three worked for Rico Air Ambulance. The aircraft went down following take-off around 12: 30 a.m. just south of Rick Husband Amarillo International Airport. Initial info indicates the pilot did have contact with air traffic control just prior to the fixed wing single engine Pilator PC-12 aircraft going down. The plane was en route to Clovis, New Mexico at the time. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigators arrived on scene Sunday. One spokesman for the organization said the plane did not have a black box. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) officials, Rico Air Ambulance brass, and Pratt Whitney, the aircraft’s engine manufacturer, are all cooperating in the investigation.
