St John Ambulance staff in Canterbury are grieving over the loss of one of their own killed in a crash in Christchurch last night.

The crash on Halswell Road involved two off-duty ambulance officers, where a 22 year old man died at the scene.

Another officer is in a serious condition in hospital.

St John Ambulance Canterbury District Operations Manager Curt Ward said “this devastating loss has been widely felt across the St John whānau and we have reached out to offer our condolences and support to all those affected, including the whānau of the deceased.”

“We are also providing support to the other staff member involved in the crash, who remains in a serious but not life-threatening condition in hospital.”

He said “whilst attending these types of accidents is not uncommon for our ambulance team, they are never easy, and in this incidence, further compounded by involving our own people. “

ward said “we want to acknowledge the care delivered by our ambulance team last night to their colleague and friend.”

“The ambulance workforce is a small tightknit team, and these types of events are extremely difficult to deal with.”

“We would ask that our people’s privacy is respected at this time.”

A work mate of the officers described them both as incredible young men.

“We are devastated.”

The 22 year old man’s work colleagues were at the crash site this afternoon and said their friend was a “community hero.”

“He’s not some boy racer, and if people only knew where he was traveling to, they would understand.”

“He was not you average 22 year old. He almost came across as 40” a friend said.

The Serious Crash Unit is investigating the cause of the crash.