Two New York City EMT's accused of walking away from a pregnant woman who collapsed and later died are returning to work after a suspension.
The two fire department employees, Jason Green, 32, of Long Island City and Melissa Jackson, 32, of Queens Village, were suspended without pay as the investigation continues into allegations they refused to help the woman because they were on break and wanted to eat breakfast.
They insist they tried to get help for 25-year-old Eutisha Revee Rennix who was six months pregnant when she collapsed.
Rennix became ill while working in a Brooklyn Au Bon Pain on Dec. 9. The EMTs were waiting in line.
They tell The New York Times they never saw Rennix. They said even if someone had led them to her, they didn't have the medical equipment to treat her.
"That is all bogus and lies and fabrications," Jackson told the Times.
“You’re telling me that at 9:13 in the morning somebody is going to drop dead in front of us, turn blue, and we’re just going to sit there and say, ‘We’re drinking coffee and eating bagels, there’s nothing we can do, we’re trainees?’ " Green told the newspaper.
Mayor Bloomberg called the EMTs actions 'unconscionable." When asked if "burnout" might have been a factor, the Mayor said,"Burnout? They were sitting there having coffee. How could they be burnt out? They're human beings. Somebody is dying down the street and (people) say help them and they just sat there."
Eutisha Rennix and the baby she was three months from delivering died during the Dec. 9 incident.
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Witnesses said the emergency workers were on break ordering breakfast at the Metro-tech Center Au Bon Pain restaurant where Rennix worked as a cashier. She collapsed in a woman's bathroom and several workers and customers asked the EMT workers for help. Instead, they said they walked out of the store telling them to call 9-1-1.
Rennix, who suffered from asthma, leaves behind a three year old son. Her twin brother and mother are in shock.
