Ambulance driver accused of abandoning patient, said he was ‘done driving for the day’ and called an Uber home

CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO/Gray News) — An ambulance driver is accused of abandoning a patient he was transporting to the hospital earlier this week in Ohio.

The incident happened Wednesday evening in Cleveland.

The patient was being transported to the Cleveland Clinic with chest pain when the ambulance driver got lost, told her he was done driving for the day, and called an Uber to take him home.

The driver worked for Lynx EMS, a private ambulance company, and not for Cleveland EMS.

According to Cleveland Association of Rescue Employees (CARE) Local 1975, once the driver left the patient, a Cleveland EMS unit responded to the scene.

The paramedics then administered medical care and brought the woman to the hospital, a CARE spokesperson said in a statement.

“We stand by our EMTs, paramedics and dispatchers who strive to provide the best care to anyone who is in need of it,” the CARE spokesperson added.

In a statement to WOIO, a spokesperson for Lynx EMS wrote:

“Patient safety and quality care are of the utmost importance to us and responsibilities we take very seriously. Upon becoming aware of the situation, immediate steps were taken to address the matter and ensure the patient’s well-being and care needs were addressed.

We are continuing to review the circumstances surrounding this incident and will take appropriate action based on the findings of that review. As this involves personnel and patient related matters, we are unable to comment further.

We remain committed to providing high-quality care and maintaining the trust of our patients, their families, healthcare partners, and the communities we serve."