A little more on Erica Smith.

In regards to this post.

I may not be able to find links to stories quite yet, as the Express-News' website isn't functioning properly for me at the moment...Ah, here we go:

Fire chief admits accident blunders

The short version:

The reason Erica Smith had no detectable pulse is that the paramedics didn't check for one. She was looked at, presumed to be dead, and covered with a tarp.

Standard operating procedure in the city is to always check for a pulse. However, that is not the way paramedics are trained here, apparently. If the trauma is violent and major (according to various reports, either part of her brain was exposed or part was on the dash board), the person is apparently assumed to be dead, & you move on to the living people.

I will leave the evaluation of the wisdom of that up to folks with more knowledge than I.

The paramedic who made the decision not to check her pulse and to cover her is no longer a paramedic in this city and never will be again. There are also three others who have been deauthorized for "an indeterminate amount of time." The harshest-punished man is identified in the newspaper, but I'm not going to repeat that identification here, as honestly I don't think it serves a purpose.