John McCarthy
CHRISTIANSTED — A St. Croix man died after waiting five a half hours for service in the ER at the Juan F. Luis Hospital, authorities said.
The case began at 7:28 a.m. Wednesday, when the 911 Emergency Call Center was notified of a Dead On Arrival (DOA) at the fence line of the Juan Luis Hospital in Estate Diamond, the Virgin Islands Police Department said.
Upon the detective’s arrival, contact was made with hospitals law enforcement officer who stated that she was notified by a nurse who while walking behind the hospital fence line to some nearby condominiums, observed a patient behind the generator room who did not look well, according to the VIPD.
“Upon the officer’s arrival to the patient, she discovered that he was unresponsive,” VIPD spokeswoman Sakeeda Freeman said. ‘The responding doctor was on scene and declared the male individual deceased at 7:30 a.m.”
Further investigation into this matter revealed that the deceased arrived at Juan Luis Hospital via ambulance and was registered at 12:32 p.m. Tuesday, according to Freeman.
‘When the male individual was called after 6:00 p.m. (Tuesday) for service, he was no longer in the waiting room,” she said.
The identity of the deceased male individual is currently pending identification by his next of kin, police said.
This matter is currently under active investigation by the Criminal Investigation Bureau and Major Crimes Unit pending the medical examiners’ findings, according to police.
