Honoring Deaths Off Duty

“December 16, 2018 was the worst day of our lives,” says Rudy Rodriguez.

That day Hidalgo County, Texas EMS paramedic Andrea Rodriguez and her husband and partner, EMT Felipe “Phil” Huerta Jr, had gotten a call for service. They were taking a woman to the emergency room. 

“They never made it,” says Rudy Rodriguez, Andrea Rodriguez’s father and a retired law enforcement officer.

Huerta and patient Delia Cortines were killed when a man drove his vehicle into oncoming traffic, hitting the ambulance head-on, according to police. That driver awaits trial on two charges of intoxication manslaughter and one of intoxication assault. Andrea Rodriguez survived the crash but spent weeks in intensive care. 

In addition to being an EMT, Huerta also was a Marine veteran who earned a Purple Heart in Afghanistan. 

“He had faced his fair share of danger,” Rudy Rodriguez notes. “Then he came home to this.”

The Losses Not Talked About

A year after his death, Huerta was honored in a memorial ambulance run from the Hidalgo County EMS office to the South Texas Health System ER—his destination the day of the crash. 

Rudy and Andrea Rodriguez talked extensively about how to best honor Huerta’s service. They came to an important realization. 

“Because we experienced a line-of-duty death, people came out and supported us and still support us,” says Rudy Rodriguez. “But there are other folks who aren’t here because something happened to them. They’re not part of the workforce anymore. But these were people who were big influences. 

“My daughter told me, ‘Dad, there are so many people affected not just by line-of-duty deaths but by COVID-19, cancer, and other things. Think about all these people we lost who no one’s even talking about.”

Why not honor everyone in EMS who had passed away, she reasoned, regardless of how it happened? 

Rudy Rodriguez set about pitching the idea of a broader-scale memorial service. Eventually he contacted Pharr EMS Chief Daniel Ramirez. Pharr EMS had replaced Hidalgo County EMS in 2021. 

Although he did not personally know Andrea Rodriguez and Huerta, Ramirez agreed with the memorial idea and, after discussing it with city officials, began executing it. 

“Our brothers and sisters in the fire and police services do a great job of memorializing those who pass,” says Ramirez. “Sometimes EMS services who are third-service or private do not. It was important to do a service for any EMS-certified personnel.” 

When speaking with Ramirez, Rudy Rodriguez brought up something that had been bothering him and Andrea.

After the crash, a Littmann stethoscope Andrea had bought and had engraved for Huerta had gone missing. Ramirez discovered it had been transferred to the Pharr EMS building after Pharr took over.

He returned it to Andrea Rodriguez.

Giving the Families a Voice

On the day of the December 16, 2021 memorial attended by 60 people, there was a roll call during which anyone who wanted to could speak on behalf of their loved ones. That included the daughter of a paramedic whom Andrea Rodriguez considered a mentor for encouraging and challenging her before he passed away.

“I didn’t know this guy,” says Rudy Rodriguez. “But he treated my daughter like his daughter. I was thinking, We’re on the right track with this—giving the families a voice. You may never have that closure that’s going to make everything feel better, but it’s about remembering them and their contributions.

“Some of these people were in service for more than 10 years. We don’t know what other lives they touched or how they may have inspired others. Whatever piece of advice they shared is still being put into play today and maybe passed on to new medics—their reach lives on.”

Rudy Rodriguez notes there was a table set up for those who had passed that exhibited headgear representing firefighters, EMS workers, SWAT medics, and air-medical personnel.

“It also had an explanation of what each place setting was for, with a rose, candle, dinner plate, and empty glass,” he adds.

A PowerPoint presentation featured images and stories about everyone being honored. A poster board listed all the local EMS workers who had passed away. Ramirez is working on creating a permanent display plaque to commemorate them. 

Also on display was an American flag someone crafted from wood with Huerta’s name on it and featuring various emblems symbolic of his life.

“The support was really good—the families of EMS workers, other medics, and other people came out,” says Rudy Rodriguez. “Our state representative, Terry Canales, who said two members of his family needed emergency medical care, was thanking families for their loved ones’ service and, like in Phil’s case, sacrifice.

“It was hard because of the anniversary of the crash on December 16. It was painful for all of us because we all lost in some way, shape, or form. It was painful to see the medics who knew them and worked with them day in and day out. But in that moment we were together celebrating their lives. You could hear people talking about what they remembered the person did. There was even some laughter. It was good to hear their spirits live on.”

An Annual Event

Ramirez says the service served several purposes.

“It was a couple of days from Felipe’s passing, so we wanted to remember him, and it was a way for us to help Andrea with her healing process,” he says. 

“I wanted to make sure to remember those medics who passed away from COVID-19, but their agencies didn’t declare them line-of-duty deaths. I had a good friend, a retired special forces medic, who worked as a paramedic for two private companies. He passed from COVID-19, but neither would claim that he got it at work.”

Rudy Rodriguez says as a law enforcement veteran, he has attended officers’ memorials but had never seen anything of this level. 

“This is to give these families a voice and let them know their loved one will be remembered,” he says. “They left birthdays, parties, anniversaries, and graduations to be of service to others. That’s not going to be forgotten.” 

“I was so grateful for the amount of respect and honor they displayed to our fallen heroes,” Andrea Rodriguez says of the ceremony. “I cannot thank them enough for including my husband in this past year’s ceremony.”

Ramirez says the memorial will be an annual event. 

“I think it’s important we remember all prehospital professionals for the work they did,” he says. “We honor those who passed away on or off duty.”

Rudy Rodriguez—who says he’s grateful to Ramirez for his advocacy—encourages other agencies to establish similar memorial programs. Ramirez says he’d be happy to offer input to any interested agencies.

“The sting of a line-of-duty death is just indescribable,” says Rudy Rodriguez. “Somewhere in your communities are families suffering in silence whose loved ones contributed every day and who may feel like they’re abandoned and forgotten. 

“Remember their contribution and legacy. Their impact is tremendous and should never be forgotten. Celebrate their service and life and really show their families that EMS is a family.”  

Carol Brzozowski is a freelance journalist and former daily newspaper reporter in South Florida. Her work has been published in more than 200 media outlets.