An 82-year-old man died earlier this month when the ambulance transporting him to a nursing home collided with a cement-mixing truck in Buckingham around noon, the Virginia State Police say. The 21-year-old Waynesboro man driving the ambulance also died in the motor vehicle accident.

The ambulance driver was travelling south on Virginia Route 20 when he swerved into the northbound lane and collided head-on with the cement-mixing truck, a state police spokesman says. The ambulance driver died at the scene of the accident.

When the wreck happened, the patient and a 24-year-old medical technician were in the back of the ambulance. Helicopters flew both men back to the University of Virginia Medical Center.

The patient died later the same day at the hospital. The medical technician was listed in stable condition the night after the crash. Priority Ambulance owns and operates the rescue vehicle.

The 29-year-old Charlottesville man driving the cement-mixing truck was wearing his seat belt. He was not injured in the collision.

The ambulance driver's uncle said he began working for Priority Ambulance roughly six months ago. His nephew loved coming to the aid of others, the uncle says.

At 16, the man began volunteering for the Waynesboro First Aid Crew. He especially liked rescuing people trapped in vehicles after car accidents. A spokesperson for the Waynesboro First Aid Crew said the man was an "excellent patient-care provider."

The Virginia State Police Crash Reconstruction team is investigating the crash. However, authorities say they do not plan to file charges.

Source: The Daily Progress, "Ambulance driver, patient die in wreck in Buckingham," Media General News Service, Jan. 6, 2012

Source: The News Virginian "Accident victim's passion for rescue work recalled," Bob Stuart, Jan. 9, 2012.