Photo courtesy Carson Tahoe Health/ Ed Pricola pictured with his two children. Pricola was killed in the line of duty in a plane crash in Lyon County on Feb. 24. The public is invited to watch a private vigil for him Friday at 5 p.m.
Carson Tahoe Health is inviting the public to watch a live stream of a private vigil at 5 p.m. Friday for Ed Pricola, the flight nurse who died in the line of duty on a Care Flight plane that crashed on Feb. 24 in Lyon County.
“As you may already know, it is with the deepest sorrow that Carson Tahoe Health shares the loss of one of our own, Ed Pricola,” Carson Tahoe officials said in a press release. “Though shattered, our hearts reach out to all the impacted loved ones, especially Ed’s wife and our fellow CTH caregiver, Lauren Pricola.”
Carson Tahoe President and CEO Michelle Joy said the magnitude of loss is beyond words.
“Please know how truly grateful we are that, as a family, we can mourn together, celebrate Ed’s legacy and help carry his family through this tragedy,” said Joy.
Carson Tahoe is planning a moment of silence Friday afternoon before the vigil.
“Our focus is to provide our caregivers who worked so closely with Ed a moment of silence to focus on his calling, our community, and a chance to honor his legacy,” Joy said.
Community members are invited to watch the vigil online. It starts at 5 p.m. and can be accessed at https://www.facebook.com/carsontahoe. A recording of the vigil will also be available at the same link.
A GoFundMe account has been set up for Pricola’s family: https://www.gofundme.com/f/ed-pricola-remsa-careflight-bsn-rn.
Pricola was a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps and a nurse at Carson Tahoe Health in Carson City for more than three years before becoming a flight nurse, according to his LinkedIn profile. He was one of five people killed in the Feb. 24 crash that occurred in stormy weather near Stagecoach. Pilot Scott Walton, Care Flight Paramedic Ryan Watson, patient Mark Rand and his wife Terri were identified as the others killed in the crash. Rand was on his way to Utah for life-saving treatment.
There are GoFundMe pages for each of the deceased that can be found by searching their name or Care Flight or by clicking their names above.
The Guardian Flight Pilatus PC-12 went down around 9:15 p.m. Feb. 24. Guardian Flight is headquartered in Utah.
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the crash.
