GRAND RAPIDS, MI (WHTC) – An American Medical Response Emergency Medical Technician injured in a two-vehicle crash in the pre-dawn hours on Sunday remains in critical condition.
In a posting on AMR’s Facebook page, the father of Tim Hoffman said that his son gave a “thumbs up” to family members this morning while under sedation at Spectrum-Butterworth Hospital. Hoffman was unbuckled in the back of an ambulance that was hit head-on by a pickup truck on Blue Star Highway near 141st Avenue south of Holland.
His father, AMR paramedic and instructor John Hoffman, mentioned in the Facebook posting that Tim Hoffman was moving all of his extremities, and expressed confidence that “with God’s help, he’s going to amaze the doctors with his progress.” John Hoffman added that, “with head injuries, the first 72 hours are critical, so we must wait.”
Tim Hoffman’s partner, Kevin Jongekryg, who was driving the ambulance, was reportedly in fair condition at Holland Hospital. He and the unnamed pickup driver, who was initially listed in serious but stable condition at Spectrum-Butterworth, were buckled up, but both had to be extricated by first responders when they came to the crash scene.
The Allegan County Prosecutor’s Office is expected to review the case once deputies have finished with its investigation, as Sheriff’s Captain Chris Kuhn said in a statement yesterday that, “the driver of the pickup truck did appear to be under the influence of alcohol at the time of the crash.”
