Two Arkansas Paramedics Die in Crash

Residents in rural Arkansas are struggling to deal with the deaths of two paramedics killed Wednesday night when their commercial ambulance veered off the road and overturned several times.

The two were headed to a medical call in Dallas County when the driver, James "Kent" Goodman, 46, lost control of the vehicle on a curve. It veered off the road and rolled over before hitting a tree.

Goodman and Timothy Clowers, 31, were ejected, and state police said they were not wearing seat belts. A resident heard the 7 p.m. crash, and called for help, said Kenneth Starnes, the owner of Emergency Ambulance Service Inc. (EASI).

The driver was pronounced dead at the scene while Clowers died later at Jefferson Regional Medical Center in Pine Bluff.

Starnes said he's never experienced anything as tragic. "The EMS community here is very close-knit. People have been calling here all day offering to help us out, volunteering to cover now or when we go to the funerals..."

Goodman, the father of two, also was a volunteer with Redfield Vol. Fire Co. Clowers, who was single, had been a paramedic for many years.

"What can I say," Starnes said, struggling to find words. "Both were very well-liked and good paramedics."