I can't belive the stupid things people do

[WebmasterAlex]

The crew of this train made 2 more stops? while the passengers were doing CPR on someone? Incredible
How stupid can people be?

 

[browneyes]

I thought you saw all kinds of stupid things people do as an EMT.

That's a sad story though.

 

[glo]

I heard this on the radio...incredible isn't it??

 

[kejoda]

This is just awful. That poor family.

 

[EROS]

Let me tell you the story
Of a man named Charlie
On a tragic and fateful day
He put ten cents in his pocket,
Kissed his wife and family
Went to ride on the MTA

Charlie handed in his dime
At the Kendall Square Station
And he changed for Jamaica Plain
When he got there the conductor told him,
"One more nickel."
Charlie could not get off that train.

Chorus:
Did he ever return,
No he never returned
And his fate is still unlearn'd
He may ride forever
'neath the streets of Boston
He's the man who never returned.

 

[nativetxn]

I hope I never have a heart attack while riding one of those trains This is awful!

 

[Eeyore2U]

I saw this on the news again. It amazes me the arrogance of the female Conductor. I just don't get it.

 

[WebmasterAlex]

was she showing lack of brains or what? WHAT AN ATTITUDE!

 

[aprincessmom]

It amazes me the arrogance of the female Conductor. I just don't get it.

I have to agree with that because she was the assistant conductor on my train for about 5 years. I never knew her to be so arrogant during that time...in fact, she was on a train I rode that had a medical emergency and was instrumental in helping keep the person alive.

The unfortunate thing is medical emergencies, while rare, do happen and the trains I was on during the 12 years I rode the commuter lines here in MA always stopped and waited for EMS to arrive at the next station. There were always calls to the general ridership for doctors, nurses, or fire/EMT personnel who might be riding to help with the problem at hand. And everyone helped out and no one grumbled about it.

Heck, conductors even collected numbers from those whose work would dock their pay for the lateness or not be so understanding so they could know it really did happen.

To see her response to this tragedy made me feel like I don't even know her.

 

[Kermit]

I saw that on the Today show this morning and couldn't believe it. I was fuming. They could have at least let people carry him off and called for an ambulance.

It's equally bad that they didn't already have paddles on the train. They've made those with voice prompts now so that they're basically idiot-proof. They should be on all planes and trains and in all public places where lots of people gather.

 

[fireplug]

There are alot of things that may have or may not have happened on this train and at those "stops". The train could have had other trains to deal with and so on. As far as the statement of the asst. conductor, remember that the writer is trying to make them all look bad, so they will not quote everything as accurately as possible and will use only the words they want too. Also being in IL. and not in Boston so I don't really know, it could be possible that the third station was the first place they could get ems to or to sit at one of the other stations would have taken ems longer then to keep going and meet them. Lets not be too quick to judge them without all the facts. A medical emergency can be very stressful to those whithout a lot of training and maybe they made some bad choices but lets wait till the whole story is heard before we blame someone for another persons death.

Steve

 

[aprincessmom]

I should probably tell that my basis for Sue's response was from the news report I watched on TV this morning where she said she fully supported the actions of the conductor not stopping, not the newspaper article where she was cited as having been helpful to the dying passenger.

Having ridden the train for many years, it is common knowledge, even among passengers, that the procedure in an emergency whether it is for someone being sick or a criminal activity (e.g., people exposing themselves, stealing pocketbooks, fighting -- all of which happened during my tenure as a train person) is to radio ahead for the proper authorities to meet you at the next station. You then wait until they arrive. Period.

Given that the stops they were going through are about a mile from the nearest hospital and there are at least 2 fire stations within blocks of both stops, it appears the conductor made a very bad decision to continue on as if there were no emergency, making stops to take on more passengers, possibly costing a passenger his life.

 

[Doctor P]

I also would like more information. I know that in the Chicago area, EMS might actually get to the person faster by the train continuing on its route. However, the delay to embark and disembark passengers is harder to explain. Doesn't look good, but I am willing to wait for a more thorough explanation before I jump to conclusions.

 

[Kermit]

They weren't on a strict time schedule or anything. The conductor did ask people to hurry at each of the stops because of a medical emergency, so they got through them a little faster than normal, but she did do all of the stops. There was about 20 minutes in between when the heart attack started and when they got to the last stop, so help would have arrived faster if they'd taken him off at the first stop. In fact, they were just about to a stop when it started. The people who were helping him just assumed EMS was going to come assist in getting him off, and they were all very surprised when the train moved on.

 

[Pin Wizard]

How sad!

 

[cotye]

A tragedy that could have been avoided so easily.

 

[mom2boys]

It's been a while since I've ridden public transportation on a regular basis. But in DC the Metro personnel always put the sick/injured individual above the convenience of other passengers. I have been on trains when an announcement was made that due to a medical emergancy the train would not be stopping at the next X# stations. The train would be continuing through to NIH/Bethesda Medical Center. Passengers were instructed to remain in their cars until the patient was removed. Then passengers who had missed their stops or happened to be disembarking at that stop were permitted to exit the train. If your stop was missed, you simply caught the next train going in that direction. Never heard any complaints. This is very easy to do with the Metro set-up. Don't know about Boston.