Discuss Detroit » Archives - January 2008 » Vagrant freezes to death after 911 call « Previous Next »
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Softailrider
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Username: Softailrider

Post Number: 101
Registered: 02-2007
Posted on Tuesday, January 01, 2008 - 7:55 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Lady calls 911 says there a bum sleeping in the snow outside her house around midnight New Years Eve . She wakes up the next morning and the guy's still laying there but now he's frozen to death . Mayors office say the lady didn't give the 911 operator an address . I thought your address automatically appears when you make that 911 call . Another example of the stellar police / EMS response in the city .
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Dpd_blue
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Username: Dpd_blue

Post Number: 200
Registered: 05-2005
Posted on Tuesday, January 01, 2008 - 8:01 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

If you call from a cell phone, they police do not know your address only what tower your call came off of.
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Lansingfire
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Username: Lansingfire

Post Number: 76
Registered: 07-2007
Posted on Tuesday, January 01, 2008 - 8:58 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Wait, why are you blaming the EMS? According to Fox 2 News and the lady's own statement, she called 911 and went to bed. Didn't wait to flag down EMS, didn't get the man a blanket or even pull him out of the street. Wasn't awake long enough to call 911 back and ask where the heck are you guys. Now back to the ems. They could have called her back and asked for better directions. And according to the report they were given an intersection to respond to and probably did look around, found no one and moved onto the next call. Detroit EMS is a busy department and with it being New Years eve the might have been chasing calls all night. You can blame the EMS, but share the blame and blame the caller for not doing anything other then going to sleep.

(Message edited by Lansingfire on January 01, 2008)
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Bulletmagnet
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Username: Bulletmagnet

Post Number: 952
Registered: 01-2007
Posted on Tuesday, January 01, 2008 - 9:22 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Will she be held accountable for his death under the "Good Samaritan" law?http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G ood_Samaritan_law
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Softailrider
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Username: Softailrider

Post Number: 102
Registered: 02-2007
Posted on Tuesday, January 01, 2008 - 9:54 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

To me it sounded like the caller could have done more then she did , but , I find it kind of hard to believe EMS is going to miss a guy laying in the street or on the sidewalk .I'd also like to hear the tape from the 911 call . Why would the lady give NOT give her address , just an intersection ?
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Buyamerican
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Username: Buyamerican

Post Number: 272
Registered: 02-2007
Posted on Tuesday, January 01, 2008 - 10:01 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

She said on the news she did "everything she could have done to save his life"....I don't think so. How can you leave the man laying in the street? She went to bed and went to sleep until 9am. EMS doesn't have ESP and know right where to go, she didn't give an actual address, just intersections. She probably called from a cell phone and couldn't be reached, or perhaps she turned off the phone. A blanket would have been nice. Stay with him until EMS was driving by to flag them down. Do something...don't just go to bed and forget there is a human being freezing outside.
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Detroitrise
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Username: Detroitrise

Post Number: 1279
Registered: 09-2007
Posted on Tuesday, January 01, 2008 - 10:10 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

I agree with Bulletmagnet. She definitely could have done more to help the man instead of call the EMS and expect then to track her down with their high powered mind reading device.
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Ghetto_butterfly
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Username: Ghetto_butterfly

Post Number: 781
Registered: 09-2004
Posted on Tuesday, January 01, 2008 - 10:12 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

I saw this on the News too. The lady made a statement and she sounded pretty arrogant to me. She definitely could have done more in my opinion and she definitely isn't the "hero" of this sad story as she may believe she is.
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Dannyv
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Username: Dannyv

Post Number: 66
Registered: 08-2007
Posted on Thursday, January 03, 2008 - 10:55 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

How can this woman who ignored this man's condition be at peace with herself and go to sleep knowing there's a man vulnerable to freezing to death out on the snow-covered street where she left him?
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Buyamerican
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Username: Buyamerican

Post Number: 284
Registered: 02-2007
Posted on Thursday, January 03, 2008 - 11:06 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Sad to think that there are some people out there who could ignore an old man laying on the ice and snow with just boxer shorts and a T-shirt with socks on in sub-zero temperatures.
Then, to have the nerve to say "I did everything I could to save the old fella".....yeah, in her dreams!
God Bless the old guy, what a horrible way for his life to end.
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Softailrider
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Username: Softailrider

Post Number: 103
Registered: 02-2007
Posted on Thursday, January 03, 2008 - 11:14 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

I agree , the entire story is horrible from beginning to end .There's nothing good about it at all . I'd still like to hear the tape from the 911 call , did the lady give an exact address where the guy was or not ?
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Tayshaun22
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Username: Tayshaun22

Post Number: 394
Registered: 02-2005
Posted on Thursday, January 03, 2008 - 11:42 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Yeah she should have just took the bum in and let him live in her house!
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Buyamerican
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Username: Buyamerican

Post Number: 285
Registered: 02-2007
Posted on Friday, January 04, 2008 - 9:14 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Tayshaun....being sarcastic doesn't hide the fact that the lady didn't use good judgement by just going to bed after calling 911. Don't you think a blanket to cover his body would have been the prudent thing to do? Maybe the man was a bum, but did he deserve to die such a horrible death by freezing? What would you have done? You should be glad that it wasn't your father, brother, mother or daughter.
I think I would have at least stayed awake, covered him and waited for EMS to roll down my street and flagged them down to point to where the man laid. If EMS didn't come in a timely manner, keep calling...whatever it took to try to keep the man alive.
Your statement shows a total lack of compassion for another human being...that's what's wrong with this world today.

(Message edited by Buyamerican on January 04, 2008)
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Tayshaun22
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Username: Tayshaun22

Post Number: 395
Registered: 02-2005
Posted on Friday, January 04, 2008 - 3:05 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

I would have gave him a few bucks and told him to move along.
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Jrvass
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Username: Jrvass

Post Number: 374
Registered: 01-2007
Posted on Friday, January 04, 2008 - 3:41 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Mighty white of you Tayshaun.
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Diehard
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Username: Diehard

Post Number: 235
Registered: 03-2005
Posted on Friday, January 04, 2008 - 3:55 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

I would've at least given him an orange.
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Melody
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Username: Melody

Post Number: 57
Registered: 11-2007
Posted on Friday, January 04, 2008 - 4:08 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Ha, and your mother in law's pillow? :-)

Poor guy. RIP.
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Buyamerican
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Username: Buyamerican

Post Number: 286
Registered: 02-2007
Posted on Friday, January 04, 2008 - 4:08 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

"I would have gave him a few bucks and told him to move along."

Again Tayshaun22, you are showing a total lack of compassion for the man. He was unconscious for God's sake; no clothes except for a hospital gown (according to today's paper), shorts, T-shirt and socks. You are fortunate that he wasn't one of your relatives...I'm sure you'd have one of the ambulance chasing lawyers on the phone within 10 minutes of him dying blaming everybody for his death. There will be a lot of finger pointing regarding his death, and the person I think needs the most scrutiny is the lady who said "I did everything to save his life" then went to bed while he was lying in the street freezing to death.
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Dhugger
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Username: Dhugger

Post Number: 331
Registered: 03-2005
Posted on Friday, January 04, 2008 - 7:40 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Condition of the unfortunate man: "no clothes except for a hospital gown . . ., shorts, T-shirt and socks"

He may have suffered from a mental illness or the neglectful health care system in the US. Michigan's former governor, John Engler, closed all the mental health hospitals. I have read that many mentally ill people now end up on the streets or in prison.
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Matt
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Username: Matt

Post Number: 1237
Registered: 10-2003
Posted on Friday, January 04, 2008 - 8:02 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

How can this woman who ignored this man's condition be at peace with herself and go to sleep knowing there's a man vulnerable to freezing to death out on the snow-covered street where she left him?

How can anyone sleep at night knowing there are thousands of homeless people in the city that we just walk or drive past?
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Danny
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Username: Danny

Post Number: 6935
Registered: 02-2004
Posted on Friday, January 04, 2008 - 8:07 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

This is big problem for the homeless in northern cities. When winter comes the po-folks would have no warm spots to spend the night. Some shelters are full and we as a community are complaining about their twist of fate.

PLEASE HELP THEM ALL!
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Buyamerican
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Username: Buyamerican

Post Number: 287
Registered: 02-2007
Posted on Friday, January 04, 2008 - 9:31 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Come on, don't turn this into something other than what it is. This was an incident where this man could have been saved if the woman had at least tried to cover him with a blanket or watched for EMS to point out where he was laying.

Whatever problems he may or may not have had, he ended up frozen to death because a women inside of a home decided she needed her sleep more than helping him. Her priority was certainly not in the right place.
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Goblue
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Username: Goblue

Post Number: 881
Registered: 03-2007
Posted on Friday, January 04, 2008 - 9:49 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

We had this same problem routinely in Anchorage...the police had a patrol that continuously circled the downtown bar area trying to find those who might have passed out in the snow...before the snow covered them...often they are Native Americans...this is not meant to be calloused but...death by freezing is not painful...basically, hypothermia sets in with disorientation and one goes to sleep.

Cannot believe this woman actually believes that she did all she could...so many of our homeless who freeze to death are Viet Nam vets...our government sacrificed their lives...and she went to bed?

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