Bumpy ride

HUNTLEY – It was just after 2 p.m. on a chilly, windy May 12 afternoon at the doctor’s offices at l2525 Regency Parkway just outside Sun City. Georgena Pape of N7, Sun City, arrived at the office of Dr. Moshe Zamir for consultation and treatment. She was driven by her son, John. Her husband, Stanley, accompanied them in his golf cart. He parked on the side of the parking lot opposite the office building, facing a deep ravine and a wetlands area.

None of them knew or expected that, in the next few minutes, their routine, peaceful day would turn into chaos, injury, and controversy. It began as a routine doctor visit, and ended up with an elderly man in a hospital and a physician in handcuffs in a police vehicle.

Stanley, 86, has survived a number of health issues and his primary mobility outside his home was with a walker. As he attempted to exit his cart, he somehow accidentally stepped on the accelerator. His cart surged rapidly over a low wall of stacked (not cemented) bricks, dropped about 10 feet to the ground in a ravine, and traveled about 50 feet through brush and trees to the edge of a water area.

The cart’s windshield was knocked off, and Stanley was thrown through the front of the vehicle, landing on the ground with the cart, still upright, on top of him. He was screaming for help while his wife and son watched in shock from the parking lot above.

Dr. Zamir and his office manager Beverly Bach heard the commotion and rushed outside. Someone came into Dr. Zamir’s office and asked Chandra Bach, Beverly’s daughter and an office employee, to call 911. Her call came to the Lake in the Hills emergency dispatching center at 2:15 p.m. More on this call later in this report.

Dr. Zamir, 73 years old, has practiced internal medicine in Elgin and Huntley for more than 30 years and is certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine. He jumped down about 10 feet from the wall into the ravine, and ran to his patient’s side. He noticed Stanley’s head wedged between a tree and a wheel of the golf cart. He broke the tree off and freed Stanley’s head. His first concern was that his patient may have suffered a broken neck or a neck injury. He could not raise the cart by himself, however.

According to Huntley Police, paramedics arrived at 2:22 p.m., and police officers showed up two minutes later. Neither of these crews used emergency, faster procedures to get to the scene, according to Police Chief John Perkins, because the information Huntley officials received from the 911 dispatching center was that the incident was a “golf cart in a ditch,” not an emergency.

Down in the ravine, Dr. Zamir was trying to determine the extent of Stanley’s injuries. He was attempting to shake and squeeze his patient’s hand to help him determine if Stanley had a neck injury. When paramedics arrived, they and Dr. Zamir managed to lift the golf cart off of Stanley. The medics then asked Dr. Zamir to leave the scene, because they say their protocols specified that civilians, including physicians, are not permitted to assist paramedics at the scene of an accident unless specifically invited to do so.

Before he returned to the parking lot, Dr. Zamir reportedly asked the medics to try and shake or squeeze Stanley’s hand. The physician said he wished to remain, saying Stanley was his patient and he wanted to help with the rescue. The medics insisted that he leave, and he eventually did. He continued to talk to the medics, however.

The medics determined that Stanley was conscious and did not have any life-threatening injuries. Firefighters lowered an aerial ladder from a truck on the parking lot. Stanley was placed on a rescue bed, transferred on the ladder to an ambulance, and taken to St. Joseph’s Hospital in Elgin. He received treatment for two broken ribs, and a small, hairline fracture of a vertebra near his neck. He was later transferred to Sherman West Court, an assisted living center in Elgin, where he remained last week.

Here is the positive side of this potentially tragic story: Amazingly and fortunately, Stanley was not injured seriously, despite the violent nature of his unscheduled journey over the wall and down the ravine.

But some controversy remains. First, the 911 call.

This is the statement of Chandra, the medical office employee who placed the call. “I told the dispatcher there was a golf cart accident and I said there was the possibility of an injury. But I didn’t know for sure because I didn’t actually see the accident. The medics came only after John Pape, Stanley’s son, drove to the fire station across the street and told them about the accident. That was about five minutes after I called. The dispatcher asked me a lot of questions, and I kept saying, ”I don’t know.”

Here’s Police Chief Perkins statement: “The 911 dispatch we received was about a golf cart in a ditch. We had no information that it was an emergency. Our officers proceeded to the scene while driving normally, not using lights or a siren to increase their speed. They got there in about nine minutes. The paramedics got there two minutes earlier. They received similar information to what we got, but fire department dispatches come from the 911 center in Lake in the Hills to a fire dispatching center in Crystal lake, and then they are relayed to Huntley.”

There’s this from Ken Caudill, chief of the Huntley Fire Protection District: “We received information that this wasn’t an emergency. We responded, but our initial understanding was this was a police matter. Fire-related calls go from the dispatcher in Lake in the Hills to a fire dispatching center in Crystal Lake. We received the 911 dispatch about the same time the man came to our station door to tell us about it.”

Here’s the statement from John Pape, Stanley’s son: “I watched the fire station across the street for about 3-4 minutes after I knew the call had been made. No one came, and I felt that was an unreasonable amount of time, since they were so close. I finally drove over to the station, knocked on their door, and told someone that answered that we needed paramedics. They came immediately. I am a part-time caregiver for my parents here, and they are going through a lot of health issues. We are amazed and grateful that my dad was not injured seriously, and that the golf cart was not seriously damaged. I guess there was some confusion about the 911 call, but it all came out okay in the end. A few minutes can seem like an eternity if your family member needs help. We could hear my dad screaming, and he’s 86 years old. We were just in shock. The doctor’s jumping and running down there was amazing. I don’t know how it happened. My dad may have gotten his foot caught in the pedals. Another foot or two, and he may have landed in water. The guy at the fire station was a bit upset with me, but I understand they don’t usually get 911 calls in person.”

Additional controversy arose regarding Dr. Zamir’s interaction with paramedics.

Here’s the Huntley Police Department’s report, provided by Officer Justin Harper:

“I observed a golf cart and a male subject, Stanley Pape, in the ditch off the retaining wall. I spoke with Lt. Michael Pierce (paramedic) of the Fire Department who advised me that they needed our help detaining a subject. Moshe Zamir, who was obstructing their ability to attend to the patient. Sgt. Hillner (police) was verbally instructing Dr. Zamir to leave the scene so that the paramedics could attend to the patient. Dr. Zamir was very argumentative with Sgt. Hillner, but eventually went up the ladder and away from the scene. Lt. Pierce informed me that while paramedics were attending to Stanley, Dr. Zamir physically pushed passed them so that he could assist in the care. Paramedics instructed Dr. Zamir to step away from the scene and informed him he was impeding their ability to give care to the patient. Dr. Zamir again physically pushed past a paramedic and got into a physical confrontation forcing one of them to hold Dr. Zamir back until Sgt. Hillner (police) arrived.”

While paramedics placed Stanley on a transport board and sent an aerial ladder down in the ravine to extract him, the police report says that Dr. Zamir started walking to the work zone and talked with paramedics. “Dr. Zamir’s temperament quickly became irrational and aggravated,” the report says.

“In order to allow a safe working area for Huntley Fire and to prevent further escalation from Dr. Zamir such as a physical confrontation, I gave him a verbal command to leave the area or I would place him in temporary custody which may result in charges for obstructing a fireman/police officer,” Harper said. “Dr. Zamiir still refused to comply so I instructed him to place his hands behind his back and I handcuffed him. He was patted down for weapons and placed in the back of a squad car.”

Here’s the statement of Dr. Zamir: “ I did not interfere with them, and I did not physically confront nor did I push my way past them. Their report saying that is not true. I am a qualified doctor and Stanley was my patient. I felt then, and do now, that I had a right to be there and work with the medics. Putting handcuffs on me was wrong. I can’t believe they would say that. I went up to the parking lot after I helped them get the cart off Stanley. I have 10 years of training as a physician and more than 30 years of experience practicing internal medicine. To send me away is insulting and was unnecessary.”

After Stanley Pape was placed in an ambulance and was on his way to the hospital, Dr. Zamir was released and his handcuffs removed. He was not charged with any offense. John Pape said his father will recover from his injuries.

It was a bumpy day for Stanley, Georgean, John, the medics, police officers, and Dr. Zamir. But at the end of the day, it was a lifesaving miracle.

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