Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Radio snafus cited in LIRR rider's death

From: [email-masked]
Date: Thu, 07 Aug 2003 17:06:35 -0400

Radio snafus cited in LIRR rider's death

Communication problems contributed to the confusion that caused a Long Island
Rail Road train to blow by two stations while a passenger was dying of a heart
attack, according to a report released yesterday.

The report by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's inspector general does
not speculate whether the 67-year-old grandfather would have survived had the
eastbound train stopped sooner.

But it says communication problems delayed getting an ambulance to Leo Caruso
of Port Jefferson on April 25, 2002, after he collapsed near the Hicksville
station
about 5:30 p.m.

Passengers did CPR and a conductor tried to radio a command center but got no
response. He tried another channel and called to a tower that the passenger was
unconscious, but that transmission apparently was not received, according to the
report.

Not knowing the seriousness of the situation, the engineer radioed the command
center to send an ambulance to the next scheduled stop, Huntington Station at
5:47 p.m.

The train skipped Syosset around 5:40 p.m. and Cold Spring Harbor at 5:41 p.m.

Then Caruso had to wait for help at Huntington because MTA police took about 7
minutes to request an ambulance, the report says.

LIRR officials are now investigating possible radio "dead spots" and will roll out

new guidelines to deal with emergencies.

Pete Donohue

Originally published on August 5, 2003

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/local/story/106540p-96361c.html

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