Saskatoon police are reviewing their response to a crash on 20th Street following a 62-year-old man’s death. Officers took more than an hour to arrive at the crash scene.
“It wasn't acceptable that we did not arrive there before we did today,” police spokesperson Alyson Edwards said. “We know that and we will review it and figure out what went wrong.”
The crash happened in the 900 block of 20th Street at approximately 5:20 a.m. An eastbound vehicle reportedly crossed to the opposite side of the street and hit a parked vehicle.
Police said in a media release it appeared the driver suffered a medical emergency just before the crash.
The man was transported to hospital by ambulance, where he was pronounced dead. Police and the coroner are still investigating.
Police said they are reviewing their emergency response time to the crash.
Four 911 calls were made to police regarding the collision. Officers did not arrive on scene until 6:26 am. — one hour and six minutes after the first call.
The collision occurred close to the time officers change shifts, Edwards said.
“All of those things, including what the witnesses were saying, and how the call was coded, all of those things have to be taken into consideration,” Edwards said.
MD Ambulance spokesperson Troy Davies said paramedics were alerted at 6:02 a.m. and arrived on scene at 6:09 a.m. The fire department said crews were called at 6:05 a.m. and arrived four minutes later.
Edwards said the standard police response time for similar calls is 17 minutes.
