Paramedics Peter Cadigan and Peggy Finley, 50 and 40 respectively, strapped a 35-year-old man face down to a stretcher for help, which authorities say resulted in his death by suffocation .
Called overnight to the home of 35-year-old Earl L. Moore Jr, the two paramedics placed the patient on a stretcher, face down, and tightened a medical strap across his back and lower torso. body, as seen in recently released body cam footage.
Moore was then taken to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead, authorities said.
A coroner’s report obtained by People found Moore’s cause of death to be “compression asphyxia, due to being immobilized in a prone position on a paramedic transport stretcher due to back straps.”
The duo should have known from their training and experience that positioning a patient in this manner “would create a substantial likelihood of serious bodily harm or death,” the state’s attorney told Fox News. Sangamon County, Dan Wright Wright.
According to a press release from the Springfield Police Department, officers on the scene, who acted as first responders that evening, reported that Mr Moore may have been hallucinating due to alcohol withdrawal and that he needed medical attention. This is why paramedics were called.
The charges against Mr. Cadigan and Ms. Finley, in connection with the December 18, 2022 death of Mr. Moore Jr, were announced on January 10 by Dan Wright, NPR Illinois reports.
With information from People.