WIVB.com
BUFFALO, N.Y. — For the second time in a month, questions are being raised about the slow response time of a Rural/Metro ambulance to the scene of a life and death situation.
On Monday, a stabbing victim laid on the ground outside a gas station in the city’s Lovejoy neighborhood as police warned dispatchers if an ambulance didn’t arrive soon, the victim would die. Brian Lawson, a spokesman for Rural/Metro, tells News 4 the first 911 call came in at 4:36 p.m., but because of a spike in volume, an ambulance didn’t arrive until 4:49 p.m., 13 minutes later.
The 21-year-old man was taken to ECMC and is in stable condition. He’s much luckier than shooting victim 25-year-old Kristopher Pride, who after being shot in the 100 block of Keystone near Walden in Buffalo waited almost 15 minutes for a Rural/Metro ambulance to arrive. After being taken to the hospital, Pride died, and it is unclear if the slow response time played a role.
Full story: Stabbing victim waits 13 min. for ambulance