Photo: GoFundMe
Questions are surrounding the emergency response to a 15-year-old volleyball player in Atlanta who died after collapsing at practice, PEOPLE reports.
Amanda Sylvester, 15, was practicing with the Dream Chasers Volleyball Club at Tracey Wyatt Recreation Complex on Thursday (December 5) when she collapsed.
Witnesses told local outlets that the College Park Fire Department responded to the scene, but Grady EMS "never fully responded" to a request for an ambulance. Sylvester's mother said she transported her daughter to the hospital, where she suffered a cardiac arrest. Loved ones claim Grady EMS' delayed response led to her death.
Grady EMS addressed questions surrounding its response time, saying it was “based on the limited information the College Park communications center provided.”
“The call was categorized as low acuity, meaning the reported symptoms or conditions did not initially suggest an immediate life-threatening emergency that would require the immediate dispatch of an ambulance,” Grady EMS said in a statement. “This assessment follows our standard protocols designed to prioritize emergency resources efficiently. However, it is important to note that when the 911 call came in, a College Park Fire Rescue unit, staffed with two Advanced EMTs, was already en route to the scene. They are equipped to provide medical care and transport patients to the hospital in a life-threatening situation.”
“After receiving a second 911 call and obtaining additional information about the patient’s medical history and condition, the call was upgraded to high acuity," the ambulance service continued. "Grady EMS dispatched an ambulance to the scene, where the patient remained and was still being evaluated by College Park Fire Rescue personnel who had arrived. However, while our ambulance was on the way, the fire department canceled the response because the patient had been transported to the hospital by a personal vehicle.”
Fulton County spokesman Bill Crane said Sylvester was evaluated by College Park rescue EMTs “within about eight minutes.”
"The young lady, by then, was conscious, evaluated, and assessed,” Crane said in a statement. “Her vitals were all normal; she was making eye contact, her pupils weren’t dilated, and she was conversant."
After being taken to the hospital, Sylvester reportedly went into cardiac failure and was revived once before she died. Her loved ones are calling her death "unacceptable."
“We have precious lives in our hands, and we’re responsible for these precious lives,” Catherine Murray of with Dream Chasers Volleyball Club said in a statement. “We have to have a better network and system to protect these kids.”
Sylvester's death is under investigation by city officials. Her family launched a GoFundMe campaign to raise money for funeral expenses and legal fees.
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