Family: Man killed in ambulance crash was battling cancer

DUANESBURG, N.Y. – A family member says a 64-year-old man killed in an ambulance crash along an upstate New York road had been battling cancer for five years and had been in constant pain.

Police say Christopher Aerneke of Sloansville was heading home after a week in the hospital when the private ambulance carrying him crashed Wednesday evening in Duanesburg, about 20 miles (32 kilometres) northwest of Albany.

Aerneke’s sister, Sharon Aitchison, tells WTEN (http://bit.ly/2rE8wuE ) her brother had been very ill with cancer and in need of constant care.

The Schenectady County sheriff’s office is investigating what caused the ambulance to veer off Route 20 and hit a tree.

The sheriff says the 21-year-old Mohawk Ambulance Service driver and a 20-year-old emergency medical technician riding with the patient were treated for injuries.