CBS News
By Mahsa Saeidi, Walter Smith Randolph | February 11, 2025
NEW YORK — A young man who went into cardiac arrest in the Bronx died at the hospital after waiting nearly 20 minutes for paramedics.
After his death, his father discovered multiple available units had been positioned just down the block. So why weren’t they dispatched?
CBS News New York investigative reporter Mahsa Saeidi looked into the system that kept the first responders away and in the dark.
Friends waited 19 minutes for paramedics to arrive
Tyler Weaver’s 24-year-old son, Nick Costello, died in December of 2023.
Costello was at his friend Emily Levy’s apartment after a night out in the Bronx. At 5:08 a.m., Costello collapsed.
“Every second felt like an eternity,” Levy said.
Levy called 911, telling the dispatcher, “He just passed out. You need to get here now.”
In a recording of the call, Levy’s mom is heard saying, “I think it might be an asthma attack because he’s turning blue.”
EMS records show the dispatcher upgraded the incident to a cardiac arrest. He tells Costello’s friends to start CPR.
Last November, FDNY Chief of EMS Operations Michael Fields told the committee the current CAD system is 30-plus years old. He said a replacement was in the works, but gave no timeline.
Additionally, the president of the FDNY/EMS union, Oren Barzilay, said staffing is a problem. He said as a precaution, crews had to remain on standby at the fire that night in December.
“At a major fire, a floor can collapse, a roof can collapse,” he said.
“How do we make sure that the fire is covered and neighborhoods are covered?” Saeidi asked.
“We need to add additional ambulances,” Barzilay said.