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The local access lanes at the George Washington Bridge in Fort Lee have become of the focal point of a growing political scandal.

(Jennifer Brown/The Star-Ledger)

TRENTON — The controversial lane closures at the George Washington Bridge in September delayed emergency responders attending to at least four calls in Fort Lee — including one involving a 91-year-old woman who lay unconscious on Harvard Place and later died, according to a letter from the borough EMS coordinator obtained by The Star-Ledger.



As closure-related traffic clogged the borough, response times doubled for at least two medical calls, according to a letter from the coordinator, Paul Favia, to Mayor Mark Sokolich. The letter was dated Sept. 10, the second day of the closures, which were lifted on Sept. 13.

The call involving the elderly woman, who was in cardiac arrest, came in at 8:43 a.m. on Monday, Favia wrote. While she was later pronounced dead at Englewood Hospital, Favia did not attribute her death to the closure-related traffic. However, he did write that, "I would also like it to be noted that paramedics were delayed due to heavy traffic on Fort Lee Road."



Democrats suspect the lane closures were ordered as political retribution after Sokolich, a Democrat, failed to endorse Gov. Chris Christie's re-election bid last year.

Wednesday, newly unveiled e-mails show that one of Christie's top aides knew about the closures in advance. The governor himself has denied being involved and Wednesday issued a statement admonishing the aide.

That same Monday, an EMS crew took seven to nine minutes to arrive at the scene of a car accident in which four people were injured, when the response time should have been less than four minutes, Favia wrote.

Responders were late getting to a third call that morning, in which a person was experiencing chest pains, according to the report.

More traffic issues the next morning caused responders to reach a man experiencing chest pains in seven minutes, when it should have taken three to four, the report said.

It is unclear whether there were more delays in medical help.

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