Maldonado above and
second from left, tending to
one of the victim’s in last
Saturday’s Town of Wawayanda
plane crash
TOWN OF WALLKILL – State Trooper Clarissa Maldonado has been on the job since the beginning of the year; she joined the State Police last July and graduated from the academy this past January.
But, this is not the first job that the Town of Wallkill resident has had where she has helped people. The 35-year-old mother of two boys ages 15 and eight, was an emergency room nurse at Orange Regional Medical Center for 10 years and that was after she served for three years in the Army.
“I am very fortunate to be part of this team. I always wanted to do law enforcement; that was my intention when I went into the military.”
Maldonado put her medical skills to work last weekend when a small single-engine plane crashed into a wooded area in the Town of Wawayanda. She worked side by side with local first responders attending to the needs of the two crash victims. Unfortunately, the pilot of that plane, Rabbi Aaron Panken, succumbed to his injuries and his passenger, Frank Reiss, was seriously injured.
“I have the utmost respect for the EMS staff because they have to do this every day and I got to see that and I was able to help, and I was privileged to do that,” she said.
State Police Troop F public information officer Trooper Steven Nevel said Maldonado’s military and medical experience is invaluable for her work as a law enforcement officer.
