Emergency medicine pioneer Wiegenstein dies

<p>NAPLES - Dr. John G. Wiegenstein, a leader in establishing emergency medicine as a specialty, has died in a car crash in Florida.</p><p>Wiegenstein, 74, died Thursday in the crash that also killed his 6-year-old grandson, according to a news release posted on the American College of Emergency Physicians' Web site.</p><p>Wiegenstein is one of the fathers of the specialty of emergency medicine, joining with seven other doctors in 1968 to found ACEP.</p><p>He steered the College through the process that resulted in the recognition of emergency medicine as a new medical specialty in 1979.</p><p>He was also a past president of the American Board of Emergency Medicine and served as emergency medicine's first delegate to the American Medical Association.</p><p>In 2001, Wiegenstein received the AMA's Distinguished Service Award, the association's highest honor.</p><p>Wiegenstein is survived by his wife, Iris, and four children. A funeral service is set for Thursday in Naples.</p><p></p>