By EMS1 Staff
HARTFORD, Conn. — A couple claims their ambulance ride time was tripled due to roadblocks in place for a marathon.
FOX61 reported that Chris Norton, who has suffered from brain cancer for the past five years, and his girlfriend, Nakita Gettner, called an ambulance after they feared he would have a seizure due to a new medication.
The ambulance ride usually takes about 20 minutes, but the couple said as they got closer to the hospital they were met with roadblocks due to the Hartford Marathon.
“We went toward Sisson Ave. and could not get down because of roadblocks, asked police officers what way to go, or best route and were redirected several times down different roads, and different routes that all ended up being blocked off,” Gettner said. “The trip that should have taken 20 minutes, took about an hour.”
AMR said both a dispatcher and operation supervisor were on duty to help ambulances reroute due to the roadblocks, but the couple said the EMTs kept running into issues while trying to get directions.
“They were provided maps but the maps weren’t lining up with what was actually closed, police officers wouldn’t let us through barricades, we were a half a mile from right here (St. Francis) and could not get down because they wouldn’t stop the race to get us through or provide an escort to get him to the hospital,” Gettner said.
“What if that was someone else going through something worse?” Gettner added. “We just don’t want this to happen to anyone else, thankfully, he’s OK but it shouldn’t happen the way it happened.”
A Hartford Marathon spokesperson said the race routes have been unchanged for years and that the Hartford Marathon Foundation works with public safety officials to ensure access to hospitals.