New York City EMT suspended without pay for leaving ambulance to aid choking girl

Matthew Diebel | USA TODAY

A New York City EMT who tried to save the life of a 7-year-old girl who choked on her lunch says he has been suspended without pay for making an unauthorized stop, according to local media.

Qwasie Reid and a partner were transporting a nursing home patient last Wednesday, local news channel NY1 reported, when they were flagged down in Brooklyn by a man who told them that a student was choking.

Reid told the station he believed a choking girl took priority over the transport, and, against his partner's urging, administered aid to the 7-year-old, who he said had already turned blue. No one at the school was assisting the girl, he said.

Reid told local TV station WABC that he cleared out the girl's mouth, put an oxygen mask on her, used a defibrillator and started CPR.

"She was blue in the face and lips. No response. Unconscious unresponsive," Reid told the station. He told local news website dnainfo.com that that the fire department arrived three to four minutes after he began CPR.

"I don't regret it," he added. "I'd do it again. If I know there's a child choking, I'm going to do my best to help her. I made a vow to save a life. If I had to jump out of the ambulance again, I'd do anything. I pray to God she feels better," Reid told WABC.

"As an EMT, I don’t care about your money," Reid told dnainfo.com. "There was a child choking. I’m worried about them firing me, but I did a good deed. I just feel like I’m being penalized for something and I haven’t done anything wrong."

"This is my situation," he continued. "It sucks. Most people get rewarded and I’m being penalized."

Unfortunately, Reid’s efforts appear to have been in vain. The girl, Noelia Echavarria, has been declared brain dead and is on a ventilator at a hospital on Manhattan, the New York Post reported.

However, her family continues to keep her on life support at NYU Langone Medical Center in hopes “she’ll make her way back,” family lawyer David Perecman told the newspaper.

Reid told Fox News that he was suspended by Assist Ambulance because it is against company police to make a stop without being called and he said they are only concerned about insurance money. Assist Ambulance did not immediately return a phone call from the station.

Meanwhile the principal of the school denied claims that the staff didn't do enough to help the child, dnainfo.com reported.

"Speaking on behalf of the teachers and staff of P.S. 250," Principal RoseAnn LaCioppa wrote in a letter to parents of the school, "I want to reassure you that our school personnel has been trained in response to emergencies and we will always follow all protocols and procedures to ensure the safety of all our students."

The site said neither LaCioppia nor Assist Ambulance have returned calls for comment.

In a statement, the Department of Education told NY1: "We believe the principal and faculty responded swiftly to the emergency, notifying 911 and the student's family immediately."