Tag: ambulances
Woman arrested after police chase in stolen ambulance with patient inside
An Oregon woman charged with stealing an ambulance last Sunday while paramedics performed CPR on an unconscious woman had one question after her arrest, according to a report.
“Why did they leave it unlocked?,” asked suspect Christy Lynn Woods, 37, of Roseburg, according to an affidavit reviewed by the Oregonian.
According to court documents, Woods drove the ambulance through downtown Roseburg, then proceeded north on Interstate 5, leading police on a chase for nearly 30 miles — reaching a speed of 85 mph, the newspaper reported.
At one point, Woods struck a police vehicle that was traveling ahead of her in order to divert traffic, the report said.
The impact totaled the police vehicle and left Oregon State Police Sgt. Ken Terry with some minor injuries, the News-Review of Roseburg reported.
Later, Woods drove the ambulance over a strip of spikes set up by police near Rice Valley, and eventually exited the ambulance at a gas station, where she was arrested, the newspaper reported.
It was Woods’ eighth arrest this year, the report said.
Woods was booked on 13 charges, including assault, interfering with paramedics, criminal mischief and reckless driving, the Oregonian reported.
According to Portland’s KOIN-TV, it was Woods’ 39th arrest in Douglas County since 2013.
In February, she was convicted of second-degree disorderly conduct after allegedly trying to hit bar patrons with an alcohol bottle, yelling slurs and kicking a police officer, according to the News-Review.
The condition of the unconscious woman being assisted by the paramedics was unknown.
Tim Novotny, general manager of Bay Cities Ambulance, told the News-Review that the recovered ambulance was sent to a garage for a repair estimate.
In 2016, another Roseburg woman, Jolene Marie Barnes, was arrested for stealing an ambulance, the News-Review reported. She was later convicted on a first-degree aggravated theft charge and sentenced to 22 days in jail, the report said, then received another 60 days in jail for violating her probation.
Worst ambulance dispatcher ever told woman she’d die
An unapologetic ambulance dispatcher claims she was overworked and under pressure when she told a dying French woman, “You’ll definitely die one day” — hours before the victim actually did, according to reports.
Patient Naomi Musenga was having severe stomach pain when she dialed the city of Strasbourg’s ambulance service and got the gruff operator on the line, BBC News reported.
“I’m going to die,” Musenga told the worker, who replied, “You’ll definitely die one day, like everyone else.”
As Musenga struggled to describe her pain, the dispatcher responded, “If you don’t tell me what’s going on, I’ll hang up!”
The worker, who has not been identified, eventually dispatched a doctor to Musenga instead of an ambulance. After five hours, the 22-year-old victim was rushed to a hospital, where she suffered a stroke and died of multiple organ failure.
The dispatcher, who came under fire for her callous comment, tried to defend herself by saying she and her colleagues are “constantly under pressure” — but she stopped short of apologizing to Musenga’s family.
“In the conditions, let’s say it was inappropriate,” the worker told French TV on Sunday night when asked if she regretted her behavior. “We are constantly under pressure … I can be two or three hours hanging on my phone, I have no time to get up. There’s so much [demand] everywhere. We hang up, and we pick up.”
Last week, her lawyer said she normally fields an average of 2,000 calls a day.
“When … you hear, ‘I have a stomach ache’ … it is true that the first reflex is to think that there is no absolute emergency and that one has to go and see their [general practitioner],” the lawyer said.
The dispatcher had just returned to work after being off for two weeks and started her day at 7:30 a.m. Musenga’s call came four hours into her shift, at 11:30 a.m.
The victim’s 3-minute call dates back to December — but it recently made headlines after the disturbing audio was released.
The worker, who has been a part of the ambulance system for 24 years, has been suspended, the BBC said, citing Le Parisien newspaper.
Musenga’s family said the operator isn’t to blame and sympathized with her stressful working conditions, France’s BFMTV reported.
Authorities are investigating but said they’re looking into streamlining France’s emergency phone numbers, which vary for police, ambulance, fire and the European Union emergency number 112.
Benjamin Griveaux, a spokesman for the French government, said French citizens are more familiar with 911 than their own set of numbers.
via: https://nypost.com/2018/05/14/worst-ambulance-dispatcher-ever-told-woman-shed-die/
Woman accused of faking pregnancy to hitch an ambulance ride home, slapped with $800 fine – Cops: “Should have just called an Uber.”
GREENSBURG, Pa. — Police say a Pennsylvania woman faked a pregnancy to hitch a ride back to her hometown.
Authorities say the 25-year-old called emergency services March 20, claiming she was having a complication with her pregnancy.
The ambulance drove the woman and her male companion from Latrobe to her hometown of Greensburg, where she was placed in a hospital room for examination.
Police say the woman walked out of the emergency room before she could be examined.
The woman gave her name and address to first responders, and police traced her to an apartment where she was hiding in the attic.
Police have charged with woman with theft of services, which carries an $800 fine.
Greensburg Police Capt. Robert Stafford says it would’ve been cheaper if the woman just called an Uber.
via: https://nypost.com/2018/03/29/woman-accused-of-faking-pregnancy-to-hitch-an-ambulance-ride-home/