A Tampa Bay family is mourning the loss of a loved one who was denied an ambulance ride because medics believed she could not afford one, reports WPBF.
Thirty-year-old Crystle Galloway had recently given birth to her son, Jacob, and was about to embark on a new career path. "She passed away before her baby's umbilical cord dropped off,” her mother, Nicole Black, told the news outlet.
On July 4, Galloway suffered a medical emergency that would result in her untimely death. Her 7-year-old daughter called Black to get help. WFTS reports Black lives in an apartment unit close to Galloway, and she came over as fast as she could to find Galloway hanging over a tub, sick and drooling.
She called 911 and told a dispatcher Galloway was "drooling from the mouth," but paramedics were not dispatched. The call indicated that she may have been suffering from a possible stroke, reports the Tampa Bay Times.
Fire rescue responders arrived and, according to Black, failed to deliver proper medical attention.
"They never asked us if we had insurance, which we do,” Black told WPBF.
Once they took Galloway downstairs, they reiterated to Black that they could not afford an ambulance and recommended that she take her by car. An ambulance ride would have cost $600.
"The whole conversation as the EMS drivers put my child in my car was that was best for us because we couldn’t afford an ambulance,” she said. “My daughter begged for her life, she begged."
On July 9, Galloway died in the Tampa General Hospital after CT scans showed bleeding on the brain. Galloway fell into a coma before her death.
"She’s 30 years old and just graduated from college, she had her whole life ahead of her,” Black said. "You can tell me you’re sorry, you can give me your condolences, but you still have to work this out with God."
According to WFTS, the Hillsborough County Administrator Mike Merrill admits first responders did not correctly administer medical attention.
"They didn’t take any vitals, they didn’t take any blood pressure, they didn’t check her temperature,” Black told WFTS.
The responders have since been suspended.
"I cannot trust these individuals to work under my medical license," Fire Rescue medical director Michael Lozano said in a statement read by Hillsborough County Administrator Mike Merrill according to WPBF. "I feel they do not meet the minimum standards set by myself and the department."
It has been about two weeks since Galloway's passing, and Black plans to seek justice for her daughter. A disciplinary hearing is scheduled for July 31.
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