Couple Rushing To Hospital To Have Baby Get Ticket

[MMiz]

Couple Rushing To Hospital To Have Baby Get Traffic Ticket

FAIRFAX, Va. -- A couple that went to a Virginia hospital to deliver a baby went home with a traffic ticket.

Kathleen Siragusa and her husband, Tom, were in the car on their way to the hospital when her water broke. That's when they hit a traffic jam.

"The first thought on my mind was what came out of my mouth. 'Turn on the lights, drive on the shoulder and go!'" Kathleen said.

A mile later, a police car appeared in front of them.

"I saw a police car and thought, 'A policeman when you need him, yeah!'" Kathleen said.

However, the couple soon found out their trouble was just beginning.

"I rolled down the window and said, 'We need to get to the hospital. Will you escort us?' He said he would call an ambulance and my wife said, 'Let's go!'" Tom said.

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What would you do? Wait for EMS, or drive to the hospital?

I thought this one out, and here's my thought process:

I'd drive to the hospital. PD would have to call for an ambulance. Depending on the response time, the ambulance would probably take 8 minutes, an average response time. Then the pt has to be loaded into the ambulance, at which point they code to the hospital. In my experience, coding doesn't really mean getting there all that much faster. Maybe a few minutes, just enough time to make up for the time it took the ambulance to arrive on scene?

I think back in the day many cops would have transported the woman RLS. Unfortunately we now live in a society where everyone needs to cover their ***. Just the other day I had PD call us for a possible OD, and arrive to hear the cop say "We're just covering our ***." We arrive, don't think the guy did anything, with fine vitals. We then call ALS "Just to cover our ***."

I read this story on FARK, and you can read the comments other people wrote here (there are 200+).

 

[SafetyPro2]

I'd have waited for the ambulance. Even when the water breaks, there's usually still a significant period of time before the baby's born. It can happen quickly (especially after the first pregnancy) but more often than not you're going to have time to take a little caution.

My thoughts always been that if an injury or medical condition is serious enough that you feel the need to break traffic laws driving to the hospital, you should call an ambulance, for several reasons. First, the person driving is generally going to be upset, maybe even panicking, and that makes for an unsafe driver. If there's an accident, you know have at least 2 or more other patients, and the original patient is now worse off...and treatment's delayed even longer. Second, while it may take a little time to get an ambulance on-scene, they'll be able to start any necessary treatment generally before you'd get to the hospital. Third, if the patient's that bad off, how's the driver going to get them into the ER? I've never seen it happen like in the movies where doctors and nurses come streaming outside when a patient arrives. Heck, when we pull up Code 3 with a full arrest, WE don't have anyone meet us at the door.

 

[ffemt8978]

Let's see here:

1) Childbirth is not an emergency, unless this was a high risk pregnancy (and we're not given enough information to determine that).

2) Emotionally distraught father is driving in heavy traffic, thinking he is handling an emergency. NO lights, NO siren, NO training for emergency driving.

"There's no exception that allows a motorist under stress to endanger the lives of themselves or others on the roadway," Perez said.

3)

"The first thought on my mind was what came out of my mouth. 'Turn on the lights, drive on the shoulder and go!'" Kathleen said.

This is a multi-vehicle accident waiting to happen. If everybody did this, the number of accidents would increase dramatically. Also, as emergency vehicle operators, we are not immune from liability if our actions cause an accident. Could this family afford a mulit-million dollar lawsuit?

4) Father was issued a citation for disobeying a police officer, not for his driving. If he would have remained with the officer, he would not have been cited. By driving off, he also risked being charged with eluding. The law is there for a reason, and it is not for an emotionally stressed family to decide whether or not they are going to obey the law and then complain about it when they're caught.

5) Waiting for the ambulance is a touchy subject, depending upon response times and distances from the hospital. I will say this much, though. An ambulance can provide treatment (and even deliver a baby) while in route to the hospital (unlike the couple in this article).

6)

"Did he think he was helping? That flashing his lights and sirens and telling us to move over would help? I don't believe his mind was in the right place," Kathleen said.

Yes, because that is his JOB - to protect the public and enforce the laws.

I'm sorry, I just have no sympathy for this couple because they made a choice about their actions, and are complaining about the results of that choice.

 

[MMiz]

Good points. Did you read that the woman gave birth 7 minutes after getting to the hospital? Would that change your responses?

Third, if the patient's that bad off, how's the driver going to get them into the ER? I've never seen it happen like in the movies where doctors and nurses come streaming outside when a patient arrives. Heck, when we pull up Code 3 with a full arrest, WE don't have anyone meet us at the door.

I've never had anyone waiting either. The worst code I ever worked, I got there, and it was like no one cared. It wasn't until that we got into the trauma room, down the hall a bit, that people started rushing in.

Then again, I'm not sure how having anyone at the doors would help, compared to the 30 second walk to the trauma room.

 

[ma2va92]

it i was the father to be.. i would not have stopped for the pd.. let him follow me to the er. and write his ticket there......... and being in virginia.. responce time of 8 min.. wow.. they would have had top be in the next building for us to get there that fast.... being time of call.. pager goes off.. I'm one of the closes to the squad.. at 60 70 mph it still takes me 5 to 6 min...to get there.. they time to get to the call... well you know the rest of the story...... DRIVE ON DAD..

 

[rescuecpt]

I personally would have kept driving and dealt with the cop later. There are indicators of what's high risk and what isn't but you don't actually know wheter the delivery will be routine or dangerous until Jr starts popping his head, legs, or butt cheeks out.

I was out with my mom & grandparents one day and my grandfather, with a history of CHF, suddenly got very diaphoretic, tired, and short of breath. Did I stop and wait for an ambulance to show up? Nope. I was 10 minutes from the hospital, I picked a route where I wouldn't have any lights, and I drove safely but quickly to the ED. My mom had the O2 opened up and on him in under 1 minute. The area we were in has a 9 minute response time. It wasn't necessarily the smartest move, but in that situation I made a judgement call based on my prior experience, training, and equipment available.