Hurley paramedic critically injured in crash on Route 32

A head-on collision between an ambulance and a pickup truck on Route 32 left a paramedic seriously injured early Saturday morning .

The Mobile Life ambulance was traveling northbound on Route 32, driven by 43-year-old William Spadafora of Hurley, around 6:55am, when it collided head-on with a 2002 Dodge pickup truck driven by 18-year-old Marco Ochoa of Kingston, according to a statement from the Ulster County Sheriff's Office.

Two passengers were also involved in the crash: EMT Gigi Williams of Hurley, who was in the ambulance, and 21-year-old Reyes Lucero, in the pickup truck. 

Spadafora was airlifted from the scene to Albany Medical Center with multiple serious injuries, where he was in critical condition on Saturday, the Times Herald-Record reported. Ochoa and Lucero were taken to Kingston Hospital with minor injuries. Williams was taken to Kingston Hospital with a head injury, and later transferred to Albany Medical Center.

The Daily Freeman has photos and video from the scene of the crash, which caused extensive front-end damage to both vehicles.

No patients were in the ambulance at the time of the crash, police said. 

A spokesperson for Albany Medical Center told the Watershed Post around 11am on Monday that Spadafora was in serious condition, an improvement on his condition on Saturday. When releasing information about a patient's condition to a reporter, hospitals may not reveal medical information, except for a one-word description from a scale that ranges from "good" to "critical."

Mobile Life CEO Scott Woebse told the Times Herald-Record that the local first responder community is rallying around Spadafora, and that they were "cautiously optimistic" about his recovery.

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