A former Houston, Texas Fire Department captain was fired by Chief Boriskie who accused her of  “callous disregard for the well-being of the public”.  Reports are that Darla Reed was at an accident scene where she failed to note that a victim was still alive, according to the letter.  Darla Reed is appealing the decision of Chief Boriskie to fire her.

Darla M. Reed was placed on indefinite suspension in January after an investigation into the July wreck in which Melissa Manriquez, 18, was ejected from her Ford Explorer in southeast Houston, Texas.

Reed was the highest-ranking HFD official at the scene, on a service road in the 14100 block of the Gulf Freeway, Boriskie wrote in her termination letter.

The chief wrote that Reed asked about Manriquez’s condition and was told by emergency medical technicians that Manriquez had a faint pulse and labored breathing. They checked again, at Reed’s request, and said signs of life could no longer be detected, according to the letter.

Although Reed later told investigators that she told an ambulance crew to provide oxygen to Manriquez, the paramedics denied receiving such an order. Boriskie wrote that Reed told them to put away the medical equipment and cover Manriquez with a white sheet.

“During all this time, wrecker drivers could see the sheet moving up and down from the patient’s breathing,” the letter states.

A second HFD paramedic crew noticed the breathing and rushed Manriquez to Memorial Hermann Southwest Hospital. She later was flown to Memorial Hermann Hospital in the Texas Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead, officials said.

According to the termination letter, Reed later claimed she had checked Manriquez’s carotid artery and could not find a pulse. None of the witnesses saw her touch the patient, however, Boriskie wrote.

“Ms. Reed contradicted almost everything other witnesses, both civilian and HFD members, revealed about the events of that early morning incident,” the letter states.

Reed is being represented by the Houston Professional Firefighters Association. On Jan. 15, Reed requested a hearing from the city’s civil service commission to appeal her suspension.

“I hereby deny the truth of the charges as made and take exceptions to the legal sufficiency of such charges,” she wrote. “I further state that the recommended action does not or would not fit the alleged offense.”

Reed, who joined the Fire Department in April 1990, declined to comment this morning, referring questions to her lawyer, Rick Mumey. He was not available for comment this morning.

Jeff Caynon, president of the Houston Professional Fire Fighters Association, said today: ”We strongly believe that the pending appeal will further clarify what happened at that accident scene.

“That accident scene, like many that our firefighters and paramedics encounter, was tragic and chaotic, according to witness statements,” Caynon said. “I believe that our firefighters did everything they thought they could do at the time at that scene.”

He said he does not when Reed’s appeal hearing will be held.

Manriquez was pronounced dead about two hours after the crash after a LifeFlight helicopter flew her to Memorial Hermann Hospital, reports show.

An autopsy found she died from multiple blunt force injuries, including a skull fracture and brain injury.

Houston police reports said Manriquez was driving north on the freeway service road “at a high rate of speed” when she struck the curb. Her vehicle rolled over, and she was thrown out of the car.

Toxicology reports revealed she had alcohol in her system at the time of the accident, although it was not immediately clear if she was drunk.

A toxicology report showed Manriquez had 0.10 gram/deciliter of alcohol in her eye fluid, 0.06 gram/deciliter of alcohol in her bile and 0.04 gram/deciliter of alcohol in blood recovered from her chest cavity at the time of her death.

Manriquez’s autopsy report showed she suffered blunt force injuries to her head, neck, torso and extremities. She also suffered internal bleeding and a fractured rib.

Source: chron.com

Crews have cleared the scene of a nasty wreck on Interstate 20, just east of Highway 1788.

There’s still no word on what caused the crash late Thursday afternoon that involved three cars including a cargo-type van that flipped over.

At least two people were taken to the hospital and traffic was backed up for miles.  

Onlookers trying to get a glimpse of the wreck caused another collision nearby.  

In southeast Houston, Texas, emergency crews were quick to respond to reports of an overturned ambulance.

The ambulance was traveling on Highway 288 inbound when it reportedly rolled over on the highway.

Reports from the scene indicate that a firefighter and a driver in another car were taken to the hospital.

The ambulance was not carrying a patient, say pokice.

It is not known what caused the ambulance accident.

A Dallas, Texas fireman was injured after a car crashed into a fire truck that had responded to another accident on Marsh Lane.

The fire truck was blocking traffic from the first accident scene when it was struck about 3 a.m., said Dallas Fire-Rescue spokesman Ernest Gurule. The firefighter, who was sitting inside, was taken to Medical City Dallas Hospital and treated for non-life threatening injuries.

The vehicle’s driver was taken to Parkland Memorial Hospital and his condition was not immediately available, Dallas, Texas fire said.

Reports are that the driver faces drunken driving charges. Dallas police could not immediately be reached this morning to confirm.

An early-morning accident that sent three people to the hospital Wednesday temporarily closed down a portion of Highway 6 just south of Hearne.

The chain reaction collision started around 7 a.m. Wednesday when a truck rear-ended a vehicle driven by an employee of Frac Tech, who was turning off the highway to the business.

A few minutes later, a northbound vehicle crashed into the truck.

Three people were taken to the hospital with minor injuries.

The driver of the truck was cited for failure to control speed.

Around 2am, a driver was speeding down the Southwest Freeway feeder road near Bissonnet when he lost control of his SUV. The vehicle ran up on the curb, hitting the pole and pipe.

A rescue crew had to pull the driver from his totaled SUV. He went to the hospital and is listed as stable.

A driver took out a utility pole and a water pipe, sending water shooting into the air overnight.

A person died late Sunday in a one-car accident in Arlington, Texas police said.

The person was traveling in a 2004 Kia Spectra when the car left the roadway and went several yards before coming to rest on its side near East Mitchell Street and Carter Drive, which is west of State Highway 360 and north of Spur 303, police said.

Police officers arrived to find one person trapped underneath the car. Police did not say whether the person, who died at the scene, was the driver or a passenger. Police also did not provide a gender.

Police said the person’s identity will be released pending notification of kin.

A driver was speeding down the Southwest Freeway feeder road near Bissonnet when he lost control of his SUV. The vehicle ran up on the curb, hitting the pole and pipe.

A rescue crew had to pull the driver from his totaled SUV. He went to the hospital and is listed as stable condition. 

Reports indicate that the driver took out a utility pole and water pipe sending water into the air.

Two motorcycle riders were killed after they were seen weaving in-and-out of traffic in Irving, Police said.

At the time of the fatal motorcycle accident, police had blocked off part of westbound Highway 183 just past Loop 12 to clean up some road debris. To get through the traffic, authorities said the riders were seen weaving their motorcycles around the cars.

At some point, the male and female, each riding on separate motorcycles, crashed after at least one of the motorcycles slammed into the back of a minivan on the highway.

The Dallas County medical examiner’s office identified the motorcyclists as Eldridge Hill, 42, and Luchreica Lucas, 21.

As police investigate the scene, parts of westbound Highway 183 were completely shut down. Motorists were diverted to the service road.

The body of a crane operator crushed when six stories of an old paper mill collapsed in east Harris County was removed from the debris. The investigation into what caused the collapse of the old Champion Paper Mill in Houston continues.

Release of the identity of the 58-year-old man who was killed is pending notification of family members by the Harris County Medical Examiner’s Office.

Nine other men were at the site when the accident occurred at about 7:45 p.m. and were about to finish working for the evening, said Southlake EMS Medical Director Joe Fress.

No one else was injured in the accident. Authorities believe the victim died instantly in the cab of the crane.

For several months, the crew has been working to demolish the former mill to make way for a residential area, Fress said

David Thompson with Caltex Holdings, the company that owns the facility, declined to reveal the name of the demolition company hired to knock down the mill or comment further on the incident.

“We’re not releasing anything today. We’re talking to OSHA to see what avenues we should we should take,” Thompson said Saturday.