The parents of a 15-year-old who died after collapsing at volleyball practice this month say their daughter might still be alive had first responders taken her to the hospital.
At a news conference Thursday, Amanda Sylvester’s parents appeared alongside a team of attorneys and demanded to know what went wrong.
Sylvester died Dec. 5 after falling to the court during warmups at a College Park recreational center, city officials said. Bystanders dialed 911 and EMT crews arrived within “moments” to help the teenager, but she was never put in an ambulance.
As Sylvester’s loved ones struggle to piece together what happened, first responders from Grady EMS and the city of College Park are blaming each other.
Sylvester was alert and talking when College Park’s EMT crew arrived at the Tracy Wyatt Recreation Complex, according to city officials. But the family’s attorneys said Amanda couldn’t stand or walk and didn’t have use of her arms or legs.
The teen’s mother, Barbara Sylvester, said she waited with her daughter more than 40 minutes for an ambulance before taking matters into her own hands.
“I told them we needed an ambulance and I wanted her transported,” she said through tears. “We waited, and we waited, and we waited. And no one ever showed up.”
First responders, staff members from the recreation center and some of the girl’s teammates eventually helped load Sylvester into her mother’s van, the family said.
They left for the hospital but got stuck in evening traffic. Attorneys said Amanda’s heart stopped moments after she arrived. The high school sophomore was revived at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Hughes Spalding, but she died about an hour later.
“This is a pain no one could ever understand,” the grieving mother said. “When you call for help, help should come. You shouldn’t have to sit in traffic and try to figure out where you’re going ... That will forever be the worst day of my life.”
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
Amanda’s memorial service was held Wednesday. The youngest of four siblings and the only girl, she had straight A’s at Southwest DeKalb High School and was in the school’s High Achievers Magnet Program, according to her obituary. She loved science and planned on a career in marine biology.
“It appears that there were mistakes from the very start,” civil rights attorney Ben Crump said of her death. “To call 911 with a medical emergency of a child and for an ambulance not to show up for almost an hour? That is horrifying to every parent.”
The family is still waiting on the teen’s autopsy results and an official cause of death, attorney Liza Park told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. They are also considering having an independent autopsy conducted.
Park said Amanda played on Southwest DeKalb’s volleyball team but was practicing with her College Park-based travel team when she collapsed at practice.
“All of this could have been — should have been preventable,” she said. “Where was the ambulance?”
Credit: Contributed
Credit: Contributed
Grady EMS said that based on information received from College Park’s communications center, Amanda’s condition didn’t appear to be life-threatening at first.
“The call was categorized as low acuity, meaning the reported symptoms or conditions did not initially suggest an immediate life-threatening emergency that would require the immediate dispatch of an ambulance,” Grady said in a statement.
Grady seemed to place the responsibility on the College Park Fire Rescue unit that was first on scene. That unit was equipped with two advanced EMTs, Grady said, and can provide medical care and transport patients to the hospital in a life-threatening situation.
But a city spokesman said College Park has a limited number of patient transport vehicles. Because Sylvester was able to talk, he said, “this wasn’t presenting as a life-or-death situation.”
He said EMTs waited for Grady to arrive since they have a larger fleet of ambulances.
Grady did dispatch an ambulance following a second 911 call, but a spokesperson for the company said that request was canceled after Sylvester’s mother put her daughter in the car and left for the hospital.
College Park maintains that Grady EMS “never fully responded to the call,” and said its request for an ambulance was not canceled.
“We are still attempting to determine why an ambulance did not arrive on the scene to provide additional trauma care and transport,” the city said in a statement. “Our deepest and heartfelt sympathies go out to the young woman’s family, friends and teammates.”
Credit: Contributed
Credit: Contributed
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