Response Time Questioned as Man Suffers Heart Attack at JFK Gate

Twenty-three minutes.

That's how long it took to get medical attention to a passenger suffering a heart attack on a plane at Kennedy Airport, according to Fire Department and Port Authority records.

The man died within the hour last Wednesday, authorities said, and his fellow passengers want to know what took so long to help him.

"It was appalling," said passenger Caroline Sullivan, who was on Buffalo-bound JetBlue flight No. 8 when the man slumped over and fell unconscious.

"He was suffering," said Sullivan, 39, of East Patchogue. "I kept looking at my watch and wondering where EMS was."

Flight attendants had just begun reading emergency safety instructions at the gate when Lawrence Parker Jr., 46, lurched forward violently in Row 14 and began wheezing.

Within moments, Parker, of Naples, Fla., was unresponsive, and a flight attendant called the Port Authority requesting an ambulance, passengers said.

That call was made at 3:12 p.m. last Wednesday. The request for an ambulance was not relayed to the New York Fire Department until 3:19 p.m, and an ambulance did not arrive at the plane until 3:35 p.m, records show.

By then, there was little emergency medical technicians could do for Parker, authorities said. He was pronounced dead just after 4 p.m. at Franklin General Hospital in Valley Stream.

It's not clear why an ambulance was not dispatched sooner to JetBlue's Terminal 6.

Pasquale DiFulco, a Port Authority spokesman, said two Port Authority police officers arrived on the plane within six minutes of the initial call. By then, flight attendants and a nurse who was a passenger were performing CPR on Parker, whom they had laid on his back in the aisle, passengers said.

Police - whom DiFulco said were considered medical first responders at Kennedy - did not help flight staff who were struggling with an onboard defibrillator, said passenger Harold Bush, 41, of Shirley.

The police "didn't take control of the situation and help out the stewardesses," said Bush, who sat in an aisle seat three rows behind Parker. "It's kind of disturbing."

Port Authority officials did not respond to a series of questions regarding whether authority policies were followed last week. A JetBlue spokeswoman said flight attendants followed all procedures and are trained to use the defibrillators.

At 3:18 p.m., one of the officers requested an ambulance, DiFulco said. According to Fire Department records, the ambulance arrived at the airport 8 minutes and 10 seconds later - which a spokesman said was considered acceptable.

Following protocol, the ambulance waited more than 7 minutes for a Port Authority police car to escort it to the plane. EMTs were not on the plane until 3:35 p.m., authority and Fire Department officials said.

The Port Authority has at least one ambulance located at Kennedy. DiFulco said the authority calls the Fire Department when that ambulance is not available for medical emergencies.

Parker's father, Lawrence Parker Sr., said his son - a store owner in Naples - was returning to his hometown of Buffalo to look into real estate.

"I don't know the whole situation right now," Parker Sr. said. "The truth will come out."

News stories provided by third parties are not edited by "Site Publication" staff. For suggestions and comments, please click the Contact link at the bottom of this page.