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Calgary paramedic who mentored emergency personnel killed in motorbike crash

A Calgary paramedic who was considered a mentor to hundreds of emergency medical technicians in the city has been killed in a motorcycle crash in the U.S.

CALGARY — A Calgary paramedic who was considered a mentor to hundreds of emergency medical technicians in the city has been killed in a motorcycle crash in the U.S.

Eric Arnestad, who had been working in the Calgary 911 call centre, died Friday while riding his motorbike near Seely Lake, Mont.

Arnestad graduated as a paramedic in 1978 and was instrumental in helping to found the Shock Trauma Air Rescue Society, or STARS, in Alberta in the mid-1980s.

Stuart Brideaux, a spokesman for Calgary EMS, says Arnestad set a high standard for emergency services in the city.

Arnestad contracted hepatitis C on the job 15 years ago and had planned a motorcycle ride across Canada to raise awareness of the disease.

He was riding through Montana with a friend to see if he was strong enough to make the trip.