TV video used to clear San Antonio paramedics

By Amanda Stanzilis at KENS News, San Antonio
On Friday night, Chopper 5 HD took video of what appeared to be paramedics standing around a victim covered with a yellow sheet. But it turned out, the victim was, in fact, alive.

It was a story that seemed eerily familiar to many in San Antonio. In 2007, a drunk driver plowed into a Honda Accord on Loop 410. Two passengers were rushed to the hospital, but passenger Erica Smith was assumed dead, and covered win a yellow sheet.
At least an hour later the medical examiner found Smith was still breathing. She died the next day.

After that, three paramedics were suspended for six months, and policies were changed.

If one paramedic can’t find a pulse, at least one more paramedic must assess the victim and make a final evaluation.

Last Friday, nearly two years to the date from Smith’s accident, Alicia Trinidad was crossing the street when she was run over by a truck. Paramedics assessed her and determined she was dead. A few minutes later, Trinidad was found to actually have a faint pulse. Trinidad died an hour later at the hospital.

Since then, the fire department has interviewed the paramedics involved, and they reviewed video from Chopper 5 HD.

Monday night, SAFD said, “Preliminary findings indicate that department protocols were followed.”

So, while the first paramedic couldn’t find a pulse, other paramedics kept checking. It is still unclear exactly how many paramedics checked before her faint pulse was found.