Child Dies after EMS is Sent to Wrong Address

A 6-year-old boy died Thursday after a frantic phone call to 911 sent paramedics to the right address in the wrong borough. According to 1010 WINS, the boy’s mother called 911 at 9:03 a.m. and told the dispatcher her son was dying. One minute later, EMS was sent to Avenue C in Brooklyn, instead of Avenue C in Manhattan.

At 9:15 a.m., the dispatchers became aware of the mistake and sent another crew to the correct address to Manhattan. Responders arrived around 19 minutes after the initial 911 call. They tried performing CPR to revive the child, but it was too late. The child suffered cardiac arrest and tragically died.

Al Hagen, president of the Uniformed Fire Officers Association, blames the city’s new “Unified Call Taker” system. He says, “Most medical calls are urgent and immediate and it takes a different set of skills.” New York personal injury lawyers are asking why the paramedics were sent to the wrong borough by the dispatcher.