A motorcyclist was killed yesterday after getting hit by an ambulance racing to a call in Brooklyn. Jesus Santiago, a 46-year-old father of three, was struck by the ambulance at 63rd Street near Fourth Avenue in Sunset Park around 6:20 p.m. Saturday. Witness Damaris Baez told the Daily News that the ambulance appeared to run a red light as it hit Santiago: “They were speeding and they beeped the horn but it was too late.” more ›

Sure, people complained when St. Vincent's Hospital closed. But now that the Fire Department wants to keep ambulances on a lot at 512 West 23rd Street, residents of fancy High Line condos are upset. One fumed at a community board meeting, "We have nieces and nephews that come to visit, and it was a nice day and they had problems going outside on the terrace because of the fumes." more ›

The Post reported on an interesting statistic: "The FDNY is writing off $120 million in EMS ambulance services provided each year to uninsured patients, a top official yesterday told the City Council." Assistant FDNY Commissioner Steve Rush explained, "If a person doesn’t have insurance, in most cases they do not pay." more ›

A Bronx man allegedly high on drugs took a Mt. Sinai Hospital ambulance out for a little early-morning joyride, though the suspect was probably just borrowing the wheels, man. more ›

A psychiatric patient from Jamaica, Queens was being transported to South Oaks Hospital on Long Island yesterday afternoon when he allegedly attacked an EMT in the back of an ambulance, stole a car belonging to an NYPD officer, and led police on a chase to the Bronx. Newsday (paywall) identifies the man as Kenneth Ashley, age 20, and reports that he "viciously assaulted" the attendant when the ambulance was on the Northern State. The driver pulled over to help his partner, which is when Ashley reportedly burst out of the ambulance and began chasing both men around the shoulder of the highway. more ›

When man came running out of CVS with "a basket overflowing with L'Oreal and Nexxus bottles" yesterday morning and then threatened a cabdriver with a gun, it wasn't the police who stopped his reign of terror—it was a pair of Richmond University Medical Center EMTs. more ›

An ambulette driver, who used his ambulance as a getaway car, was convicted yesterday of holding up a Queens nail salon and threatening to kill a customer if she called for help. And he only has himself (and GPS) to blame! more ›

A reckless driver was the catalyst for a dangerous four car collision yesterday, involving an ambulance and a M100 bus on 125th Street and Adam Clayton Powell Boulevard. Witnesses say that a black Acura with North Carolina plates was blasting music and not paying attention when it hit the eastbound ambulance, which was responding to a call at Randalls Island. more ›

Yesterday, St. Vincent's announced that starting today, "St. Vincent’s Hospital Manhattan emergency department, in coordination with the NYS Department of Health and FDNY EMS, will be placed on permanent diversion of ambulances for all services except for behavioral health. The ED will remain fully functional with the ability to treat and admit all walk-in patients as needed.” Instead, ambulances will take patients to Beth-Israel, Roosevelt, NY Downtown or Bellevue. more ›

According to a new study, sluggish emergency workers are taking longer to get to some NY areas. Of course it’s all relative: the worst delays are in Carroll Gardens where distressed New Yorkers waited an average of 33 seconds longer in 2009 and in the Bronx’s Highbridge neighborhood (near Yankee Stadium) where wait times increased by 27 seconds. Thirty four other police precincts also saw longer reaction times, reports the Post, though many stayed steady and 42 precincts cut their delays. Though the increases may seem tiny, Eugene O'Donnell, a professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice stressed their significance. "This is a huge issue," he said. "For people who have a critical need for the police, any increase is alarming." more ›

Officials have confirmed that human error was to blame for a mis-dispatched ambulance whose would-be passenger died while waiting for its arrival Thursday. At 9:04 a.m. Mariela Lazaro called 911 and said her son’s nose was bleeding, but she was too upset to give her exact cross streets. While searching for the address in the database a 911 worker hit the wrong key and located Avenue C in Brooklyn, though Lazaro was actually calling from Avenue C in Manhattan’s Stuyvesant Town. An emergency crew rushed to the outer boroughs address, but quickly realized something was wrong. Less than twenty minutes after the original call another crew found its way to the correct home, but by then it was too late, the boy was dead. more ›

The city EMTs accused of ignoring a dying pregnant woman while they were buying breakfast in a Downtown Brooklyn cafe called the allegations against them "lies and fabrications." Queens residents Jason Green and Melissa Jackson — whose 30-day suspensions end today — said they did everything they could on the morning of Dec. 9, when Eutisha Revee Rennix collapsed in a backroom of an Au Bon Pain and later died of an asthma attack. Her unborn child also perished. more ›

The EMTs accused of abandoning a dying pregnant woman in a Downtown Brooklyn cafe might face charges that could send them to prison. According to the Post, the Brooklyn District Attorney's Office is considering charging Jason Green and Melissa Jackson with reckless-endangerment for telling employees to "call 911," instead of putting down their breakfast and providing aid to Eutisha Revee Rennix, 25, who was having trouble breathing in a back room on Dec. 9. Rennix and her baby both died at the hospital. more ›

The two paramedics accused of refusing to help a pregnant woman who was having a fatal seizure have been suspended without pay. Jason Green, 32, and Melissa Jackson, 23, were suspended for allegedly telling employees in a Downtown Brooklyn café to "call 911" instead of aiding 25-year-old Eutisha Revee Rennix, who was six months pregnant when she collapsed on Dec. 9. more ›

Mayor Bloomberg called out two EMTs accused of refusing to aid a dying pregnant woman because they were on break. According to onlookers, the medics told employees at a Downtown Brooklyn Au Bon Pain to call 911 when cafe worker Eutisha Revee Rennix, 25, collapsed and began having a seizure on Dec. 9. "It was unconscionable, [an] outrage, pick some adjectives and stick it in," said the Mayor. "The Fire Department, including EMS, is responsible for life-saving, and their first responsibility is to do that … [b]ut even if they weren't part of the Fire Department sworn to protect all of us, just normal human beings, drop your coffee and go help somebody if they're dying. C'mon." more ›

City medics refused to help a pregnant woman who was having a fatal seizure inside a Downtown Brooklyn café, according to witnesses. The Post reports that two FDNY medics were inside the Au Bon Pain in Metrotech Center when café employee Eutisha Revee Rennix, 25, began complaining of shortness of breath and intense stomach pains. more ›

The fire department has eliminated regular maintenance of its defibrillators — prompting concern among some medics that the machines might fail. more ›

A woman in Brooklyn was killed by an ambulance early this morning. NY1 reports, "Sources say an emergency medical services vehicle struck a 80-year-old woman as she was standing in a crosswalk on Bay Parkway by the Belt Parkway just after 6 a.m. The ambulance was transporting a 100-year-old woman with stomach pains to Lutheran Hospital." The investigation is ongoing. more ›

A robber held up a Queens nail salon on Saturday before fleeing from the shop in an ambulette. more ›

The Post is ready for its readers to be outraged with an "Exclusive" on how some people abuse 911, the city ambulances and emergency rooms. Example one is "Ricky Alardo, a homeless alcoholic nicknamed Ricky Ricardo" who "swigs cheap vodka by day at his favorite corner in Washington Heights, then calls an ambulance to chauffeur him to the hospital for a free meal and a warm place to sleep, courtesy of taxpayers who fund his Medicaid benefits." (More details here.) He calls 911 "four or five times a week," which works out to $300,000 a year—or $3.9 million over the 13 years he's been running the scam. Alardo proudly says the medics "treat me like a king"—the Post explains,"By law, EMS workers cannot refuse to treat or transport any patient. And ERs have to at least evaluate and stabilize homeless patients." One medic said, "It's not always easy to pick up these guys and take them in. But our policy is: 'You call, we haul.' We have no other choice," while another admits, "When Ricky passes on, I'll probably even go to his funeral. I've seen him almost every day for the last 13 years." more ›

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Over the weekend the Washington Post took note of New York City's latest effort in saving people's lives; reportedly we'll be deploying "a special ambulance to collect the bodies of people who have died suddenly from heart attacks, accidents and other emergencies and try to preserve their organs." The program is funded by the Federal Health Resources and Services Administration, and allegedly would add nearly 35,000 additional transplants to the current annual count. more ›

Last week a video by rapper Papoose surfaced, showing a Bed-Stuy volunteer ambulance along with volunteer EMTs attending to a dying man on the street. The taxpayer funded B.S.V.A.C. was allocated $135K last year, and not to waste time hanging out on video sets. But it turns out the EMTs were duped into being in the video; The Daily News reports:

"Ambulance" opens with a gunshot and a piercing scream, then shows two paramedics frantically working on a bleeding man in an ambulance. more ›

Rapper Papoose better not follow in the footsteps of his lady love, Remy Ma, lest he find himself behind bars along with her. The rapper is feuding with another rapper, Uncle Murder, and has visually "brought it" in a new video for his song "Ambulance." more ›