These Paramedics Refused to Save Her Life Because They Thought She Couldn't Pay. Now She's Dead.

  • by: Care2 Team
  • recipient: Hillsborough County Administrator Mike Merrill
First responders have a duty to help. When someone is sick or injured, they should be the first on the scene, and do everything they can to save the life of the person in need.

But that isn't what happened to Crystle Galloway — a 30-year-old African-American woman who had recently given birth to her second child days earlier. When paramedics arrived to her house, aid was the last thing they gave.

Crystle's mother, Nicole Black, said she found her daughter slumped in the bathtub, so she called 911 immediately. According to Black, when the paramedics arrived, they failed to give her proper medical attention. Instead, they tried to convince the pair that an ambulance would be too expensive for them. While Crystle lay suffering on the ground, they spent 12 minutes arguing with Ms. Black, eventually making her mother drive her daughter to the hospital herself.

Five days later, she was dead.

Nicole Black believes the paramedics didn't want to take Crystle to the hospital in an ambulance because they thought they were poor. And, had they done their jobs properly, Chrystle would still be alive today.

The four first responders are currently on paid leave, pending a disciplinary hearing. But is that enough? Officials in Hillsborough County — the location of the incident — have already taken responsibility. So if that's the case why haven't these men been fired?

Sign the petition and demand that Hillsborough County Administrator Mike Merrill dismiss the four negligent first responders and create policies so that this will never happen again.
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