Motorcycle crash victim calls for better emergency response times after waiting over 30 minutes for Medic

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — A motorcycle crash victim is asking county leaders for change after he waited more than 30 minutes for medical personnel to respond.

He wants to make sure no one else has to wait longer than he had to.

“The fire department showed up in about 5 minutes — less than 5 minutes, I believe. And then we waited, and the fire department said ‘Hey, where’s the ambulance? We need them emergency traffic‘ and they’re like ‘oh, yeah, we’re still 10 minutes away.‘ I’ve been on the ground for 10 minutes already,” Ullman recalled. 

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He’s recovering from a broken arm from a June motorcycle crash. Bystanders called 911, but he waited more than 30 minutes for an ambulance to arrive.

“All I wanted was to get to the hospital so they could start treating me,” Ullman said. 

He spoke before Mecklenburg County Commissioners on Tuesday about emergency response times, hoping they could find a resolution.

“Every minute matters when you’re lying on the pavement, scared, broken in pain, unsure, time moves different. Each minute feels like an eternity. The fire department sat with me for 15 of those minutes, helpless because there was nothing they could do in their scope of practice,” Ullman said. 

The area firefighters’ association wants leaders to address the long-standing issue of emergency response times with Medic. Chiefs say firefighters are spending too long on scenes waiting for Medic crews to arrive, keeping them from other emergencies.

“We continue to hear the discussion referencing 300 fire trucks within the county. The reality, those 300 trucks, only about 100 are staffed full-time time ready to roll at a moment’s notice. Citing the large number inflates expectations while ignoring operational facts. We need you to focus on the reality of our emergency response resources,” said Charlotte Firefighters Association President Mark Finis. 

Mecklenburg County fire chiefs met with commissioners and Medic officials on June 26 to discuss the growing population and the best ways to decrease response times.

“The goals as they are written today for Medic, in our contract, don’t work anymore. The way that we have built this system and built Medic to be accountable for response times makes it show that we are 98% compliant, when in reality. It’s 60 something,” said Medic executive director John Peterson.

Ullman hopes the conversation leads to change.

“All the taxpayers deserve better. Every resident. No one should have to wait 20 minutes for an ambulance,” Ullman said. 

Huntersville Fire officials sent Medic a memorandum of understanding and are hoping for a response soon.