TRAGIC DEATH
Husband lay dying in back of ambulance while desperate pregnant wife directed driver to hospital ‘as he didn’t know way’
Dad-to-be was involved in horror crash with car but ambulance took 54 minutes to arrive, inquest told
A PREGNANT woman had to direct an ambulance driver to hospital while her tragic husband lay dying became he didn't know the way, an inquest heard.
Samantha Morris was 13 weeks pregnant with twins when her husband Aaron, 31, was involved in a horror crash with a car.
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She was on her way to meet him following an overnight stay in hospital when she discovered her husband lying in the road.
An inquest heard Samantha and others at the scene in County Durham called an ambulance but it took 54 minutes for paramedics to arrive.
When third party ambulance company Ambulanz finally arrived, the driver asked where the nearest trauma centre was.
While on route to Newcastle's Royal Victoria Infirmary (RVI), Aaron went into cardiac arrest so the mum instead directed the driver to the nearest hospital as the sat nav wasn't working.
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She said: "I was 13 weeks pregnant and my husband was having CPR in the back of the ambulance. Why should I make the decision on what hospital my husband should be taken to?
"I have to live with the fact that if I said the RVI he might still be alive to this day."
The tragedy unfolded on July 1, 2022, as the couple, who had been married just 14 months, planned on heading on a trip to celebrate Samantha's birthday.
Aaron collided with a car that pulled out of a junction - causing his helmet to come off as he fell from his motorbike.
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County Durham and Darlington Coroner's Court heard he was still conscious and breathing when Samantha found him but by the time the ambulance arrived, his condition had deteriorated.
The court heard there were multiple attempts to call 999 that did not even connect.
An off-duty nurse who helped at the scene asked twice for Aaron to receive a category one ambulance response – the highest level of urgency – but paramedics still took too long to arrive.
Tragically, Aaron couldn't be saved and died shortly after arriving hospital.
Samantha said: "I was there to hold Aaron's hand as his heart took its last beat."
The mum said the driver made the "right decision to ask" directions and that she doesn't "fault him for that".
But she added: "My fault in that is the people who manage and train him should have given him the tools to know where the nearest hospital is."
The inquest continues.
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