The mother of slain teen Dario Bartoli has filed a lawsuit against B.C.’s Ministry of Health and a 911 dispatcher, claiming that slow ambulance response time caused or contributed to his death.
Surrey RCMP were the first to respond to Bakerview Park where the 15-year-old had been swarmed and badly beaten by a group of five people back in December 2014.
Documents obtained through Freedom of Information Requests indicate that the first emergency call from police was placed on hold for nearly three minutes. According to the notice of civil claim, the 911 dispatcher issued a Code 2 response instead of a more urgent Code 3 call.
The notice of civil claim also said if the call had been prioritized as a Code 3, Bartoli could have been transferred to B.C. Children’s Hospital, which had specialized equipment that could have saved his life. Instead he was transported to Peace Arch Hospital.
WATCH: The death of Dario Bartoli
The suit claims it took 26 minutes for the first ambulance to arrive at the scene of the attack, which is just a 10-minute walk – or a two-minute drive – from Peace Arch Hospital.
No arrests have been made in connection with the case.
None of the allegations have been proven in court.