Family members of 7-year-old girl who remains on life support after choking on her school lunch last week in Brooklyn say no one rendered aid until a passing EMT was flagged down at a nearby intersection. By then, however, it was too late.
Noelia-Lisa Echavarria remains on life support at NYU Langone Medical Center, where family members say doctors have declared her brain dead.
Noelia-Lisa Echavarria
ABC / Via abc13.com
The girl's family told reporters Tuesday that the faculty at PS 250 in Williamsburg failed to act fast enough to save her life.
They said Noelia-Lisa was originally discovered choking by school staffers in the cafeteria on Wednesday, but no one gave her CPR or the Heimlich maneuver. Instead, faculty called 911 and her mom, who in turn called the girl's uncle, Alex Santiago, who was at home just a few blocks away.
When Santiago arrived, he said Noelia-Lisa was lying on a floor in the hall, lifeless and covered in blood, surrounded by confused staffers, the New York Daily News reported.
Meanwhile, EMT Qwasie Reid, 25, happened to be driving a private ambulance and was stopped at a red light near the school when a teacher and school safety agent ran out crying for help, he told a local ABC affiliate.
Reid was able to leave the ambulance, he said, because he was accompanied by another EMT and an aide to transport their stable patient to an assisted living facility.
Reid told reporters that he ran into the school and immediately cleared out the Noelia-Lisa's mouth and put an oxygen mask on her, used a defibrillator, and started CPR.
"She was unresponsive. Her face was blue. Nobody was doing anything," Reid told the New York Daily News. "She was definitely choking. I cleared the airway."
About four minutes later, New York City firefighters arrived and took the girl to a nearby hospital.
Noelia-Lisa's family say they believe Reid's help was imperative, but the EMT said his employers at Assist Ambulance were not pleased that he got involved and have suspended him indefinitely.
ABC / Via abc7ny.com
Reid, a father of four, said he is already looking for new work.
Meanwhile, Ana Santiago said she refuses to pull the plug on her daughter and is praying for a miracle.
City Department of Education regulations state that school health staff must have CPR training, but are not required to be in the cafeteria.
And in a statement, the department said that it believed the principal and faculty "responded swiftly to the emergency."
BuzzFeed News reached out to PS 250 Principal Nora Barnes for additional information.
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