Queens student had a stroke at school and waited about an hour for an ambulance
Several 911 calls brought no ambulance, so a St. Francis Prep sophomore's parents drove him to the hospital themselves. The FDNY is investigating the delay.
A 14-year-old sophomore at St. Francis Prep in Queens had a stroke at school in late September. His family said no ambulance came for about an hour despite several 911 calls, so his parents drove him to a hospital themselves. The FDNY says it is investigating what went wrong.
What happened at St. Francis Prep
The teen said he got dizzy climbing the stairs, couldn’t walk straight and had to steady himself against the wall. He also had double vision and went to the school nurse. He didn’t know what was happening, but his two older sisters, who attend the same school, suspected a stroke right away. His family said he had seemed like a healthy, active athlete two weeks earlier.
His father, Brian Daly, said he told the 911 dispatcher that he was a retired firefighter and that help had to come immediately. The family said more calls followed and no EMTs arrived. After about an hour of waiting, his parents gave up and took him by car to NewYork-Presbyterian Queens, a Flushing hospital roughly three miles away.
Doctors there found a rare type of stroke. He was moved to NewYork-Presbyterian’s medical center in Washington Heights for several days of treatment. He is expected to recover fully, though he says his left eye still lags a little. “With a stroke every second counts,” his father said.
FDNY investigation into the 911 delay
An FDNY spokesperson said the department is looking into how the calls were handled, classified and dispatched, to find the cause of the delay and the changes needed to prevent a repeat. The department said it is hiring EMTs as fast as its training capacity allows and called the trend unacceptable.
The case comes after a city comptroller report found that response times to life-threatening emergencies rose 41% over the past decade, almost four minutes longer. More details are in our story on slower FDNY ambulance responses. The family is waiting for the FDNY’s findings and wants an explanation for why help took so long.
Quick answers
Is the FDNY investigating the delayed ambulance?
Yes. A spokesperson said the department is reviewing how the 911 calls were handled, classified and dispatched.
How much have NYC ambulance response times risen?
A city comptroller report found life-threatening emergency response times rose 41% over the past decade, almost four minutes.
