Saturday, September 22, 2012

Restrained woman jumps from moving ambulance, so they say.


A moving ambulance is not a Japanese bullet train; it does have brakes, door locks and restraints. Unless it kills a woman in Cherokee County, Texas.

Troup, TX: 
Media coverage in Cherokee County is a mixture of bald-face lies, propaganda, innuendo, and illogical fiction. A politically polished article highlights the tragedy of a 36-year old alleged "mentally disturbed" woman from Troup, TX who died several weeks ago while being transported for observation. Cherokee County sheriff deputies were dispatched along with ETMC. It took a few days for them to get their stories straight, but here's the one they are running with. The article "Troup woman dies after jumping from ambulance" is the perfect example of deliberate misdirection used to hide unlikely storylines. They even bury the obvious facts that would shed light on Cherokee County EMS transport procedures during non-life threatening situations and non-emergencies.
 and


(Courtesy: Tyler Paper)

According to the Tyler Paper, Crystal Delaune died on August 19, 2012 after jumping from a moving ETMC ambulance and landing in the middle of US 69 south of Jacksonville, TX.  (Source: Tyler Paper, August 28, 2012) Delaune had reportedly shown signs of delusion and was being transported by stretcher to Mother Frances Jacksonville. In route, she removed her restraints, unlocked the doors, and jumped according to Cherokee County paramedics. She had attempted to flee the ambulance at the scene so the story goes; CCSO dispatch was notified, then told to disregard. On the final attempt, Delaune jumped from her stretcher and exited through the rear door and fell out onto the highway at 60mph. (Source: CBS 19)

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Paramedics described how they tried to grab her before she jumped from the moving vehicle; apparently the brakes were stuck and the power locks inaccessible. It would be ridiculous for EMTs to pull off on the side of the highway and gain control of a 120 lbs. woman. Instead the collective story for public consumption is akin to a scene from the Runaway Train movie "Unstoppable"- both as realistic and well-acted as the other. Apparently it does not occur to Cherokee County readers that an ambulance is capable of driving slowly on the shoulder instead of throwing patients out the back door. Lesson of the day: ETMC ambulances in Cherokee County don't have locks on their doors to keep patients tied to a gurney from being rolled out under an 18 wheeler.

That's their story and they're sticking to it. Cut and print.