Fire Law Blog Fire Service and Public Safety Legal Issues Blog by Curt Varone
The first of several anticipated reports about the bizarre January 12, 2012 death of a skier injured at the Sugarloaf Ski Area has been issued by the local police department. David Morse died while being transported by ambulance to Franklin Memorial Hospital. During that transport, paramedics pronounced him dead, and returned his body to the ski area.
The Carrabassett Valley Police Department issued their report last week, concluding that the death was accidental and no crimes were committed by the crew. The report also shed light on a particularly disturbing allegation arising from the incident.
Morse’s widow, Dana, publically accused the ambulance crew of leaving her stranded on the roadside during the transport. She alleged that she asked to ride in the back of the ambulance but was told to ride in the front. During the transport she asked again to ride in the back, and claimed that the driver finally stopped the vehicle so she could move. She said that when she exited the front passenger’s seat, the vehicle sped off without her.
The police report gives an entirely different version of these events. The report concludes that Dana Morse asked to get out of the ambulance. It also says that unsafe road conditions due to a blizzard and the long distance to the hospital factored into the decision to return the body to the ski area.
The report details the extent to which police officers went to try to reach Dana Morse to inform her of what transpired. Dana had previously told reporters of her anguish at having driven all the way to Franklin Memorial Hospital only to discover that her husband had not even been transported.
