Edmonton senior takes injured man to hospital himself rather than endure long wait for EMS

An Edmonton business owner who was unexpectedly called into action to help a man with a broken leg in -20 C weather says he is losing faith with emergency services.

Richard Gendron, 72, was at work at Wagner Road and 75th Street around 4 p.m. on Jan. 4 when he was horrified to see a catastrophe unfolding outside his business.

“I found a man with a broken leg crawling on his belly in my parking lot,” Gendron said. “I pulled him into my shop where it was warm. … His hand was blue from pulling himself in the snow.”

He could see bone protruding from the man’s leg. The man told him he’d been assaulted.

A 911 operator said police and EMS would be coming. However, when police arrived 15 minutes later, they told him no ambulance was currently available, and it could be hours before one arrived.

In an emailed response to Postmedia, an Edmonton police spokesperson confirmed the call as a report of an assault.

“The complainant declined to wait for EMS, and stated that the reporter could drive him to the hospital. Both the complainant and reporter indicated they were comfortable with this arrangement. The reporter indicated that he could not lift the complainant, but the complainant confirmed that he was able to get into the vehicle on his own,” the spokesperson said.

“Police repeatedly verbally confirmed that the complainant was declining to wait for transport by EMS and that he was able to attend the hospital without assistance.”

Gendron drove the man to the University of Alberta Hospital, where the emergency department was full.

It took four staff to wrangle the man into a wheelchair.

“I hope that man does OK,” he said.

Gendron recalled days when EMS response was quicker.

“I remember when I had a stroke, EMS arrived within five minutes. Within 15 minutes I was transported to the U of A, and quickly was given an IV. Within the next 30 minutes, they had done an MRI and I was on medication. They literally saved my life,” he said.

“That was Feb 20, 2020. In 2026, I had to drive a man to the hospital,” he said.

The incident has undermined his faith in emergency services, Gendron said.

“Yesterday I went to all the businesses in my little neighbourhood. Got all their first names and their cell numbers … everyone will get a list of everyone for emergencies. We can’t count on health and safety anymore. As a group, we can at the very least save our lives,” he said.

According to the Edmonton police spokesperson, officers canvassed the area for video footage and attempted to locate possible suspects. They later met up with the complainant at the hospital to get his version of events.

An emailed statement from Acute Care Alberta said that an EMS unit was dispatched to help the man with the broken leg after police arrived, but was then moved to a higher priority call

“The patient chose their own transport prior to the arrival of the next available unit and EHS was stood down. When dealing with high volume we balance the safety of our crews and the acuity of other patients needing the health system to prioritize our responses to events,” the statement said.

jcarmichael@postmedia.com

Related

Bookmark our website and support our journalism: Don’t miss the news you need to know — add EdmontonJournal.com and EdmontonSun.com to your bookmarks and sign up for our newsletters here.

You can also support our journalism by becoming a digital subscriber. Subscribers gain unlimited access to The Edmonton Journal, Edmonton Sun, National Post and 13 other Canadian news sites. Support us by subscribing today: The Edmonton Journal | The Edmonton Sun.