REIDSVILLE, N.C. — The widow of paramedic Capt. William “Billy” McKinney, Jr., Lisa McKinney, was presented a Wake County EMS challenge coin and a dog tag with McKinney’s name embossed on it from the National EMS Memorial Bike Ride.
McKinney Jr., a 19-year paramedic of Rockingham County EMS, was struck and killed on January 14, 2015 when he stopped to assist motorists involved in a highway collision. McKinney, 42, had just finished a 12-hour shift and was still in uniform and wearing his county-issued reflective coat when he was struck.
Derek Collins, a Wake County EMS paramedic, honored McKinney as a first-time participant in the 2015 National EMS Memorial Bike Ride. Collins, the only rider from N.C., received a picture, two dog tags, and an information brief information about McKinney.
“Each rider wore the dog tags during the seven-day event,” said Collins. “Each morning there was a ceremony in which each rider was called out by the name of his/her honoree and a bell rung.”
At the end of the seven-day event, Collins kept one dog tag and presented the other to McKinney’s family. Collins is already planning to participate again next year and will continue to wear the dog tag of McKinney and other honorees for as long as he continues to ride.
This year the National EMS Memorial Bike Ride honored 72 EMS providers that died in the line of duty. EMS professionals from the U.S. and Canada participated in the 523-mile bike ride from Boston to Alexandria, Va.