Doctor's Death Linked to Cell Phone

[Taco]

http://radio.woai.com/cc-common/news/sections/newsarticle.html?feed=119078&article=4837187

Doctor's Death Linked to Cell Phone

SUV driver answered cell call just before striking doctor, killing him
By Jim Forsyth
Monday, January 12, 2009
Police say the driver of an SUV on Bandera Road had just received a cell phone call when he lost control of his SUV, ran off Bandera Road, and struck and killed Dr. Alex Sanchez, Chief of Medicine at the Emergency Room at University Hospital.

Dr. Sanchez was pronounced dead on arrival at his own ER, 1200 WOAI news reports.

A police report listed 'inattention to driving' caused by 'cell phone use' as the cause of the incident, which happened on Bandera Road near Loop 1604 Sunday afternoon.

The driver of the SUV, Philip Smith, 46, of New Braunfels, told police that he was in the process of taking his 2005 Ford Explorer in to a shop to have the brakes and the tires repaired when the incident occurred.

No charges have been filed in the case.

Dr. Sanchez, 52, was appointed medical Director of the Emergency Room at University Hospital last summer.

Since that time, hospital officials said today he has made 'significant improvements in wait times, efficiency, and overall customer service.'

"Dr. Sanchez was a man with great passion for his work, and great compassion for his patients," University Hospital said in a statement. "His leadership, clinical skills, and commitment to our mission earned him the respect of his colleagues at the UT Health Science Center and at University Hospital."

Smith told police he answered his cell phone 'then noticed Dr. Sanchez jogging. He hit the breaks and the car slid off the roadway striking Dr. Sanchez jogging on the shoulder."


Several proposals have been introduced in the upcoming session of the Texas Legislature to restrict cell phone use behind the wheel, and the Texas DPS has called for the use of cell phones by drivers to be banned entirely, citing safety concerns.

[angel_luv]

That's horrible. How sad! :(

[PM5K]

That vehicle should be inspected my a mechanic, if the tires and brakes are found to be in good working order then the driver should be charged with manslaughter.

[Dex]

Sometimes I try to crochet while driving.

It's the only time I can get a good knit in.

[Blake]

a ban on using cell phones while driving is coming.

that said, why in the world would you jog along Bandera near 1604? I see idiots jogging along the access road of 1604 all the time around huebner and I keep waiting to see some car swerve and knock them into the woods.

[I Love Me Some Me]

I thought jogging was suppossed to be good for you.

[baseline bum]

That's pretty screwed up to lose a doctor because some jerkoff was yakking on his phone. How fucking hard is it to call the person back once you're stopped and parked?

[angel_luv]

I thought jogging was suppossed to be good for you.

Ok, I'll admit it. I laughed at that.

[fatsack]

didn't someone here say the driver was probably on a cell phone?

[JoeChalupa]

If it will save just one life..BAN THOSE DAMN CELL PHONES!!! .....and putting on make-up as well.

[PM5K]

If it will save just one life..BAN THOSE DAMN CELL PHONES!!! .....and putting on make-up as well.

Nah, not just for one life, if it saves 7 1/2 I'd say ban em, but not just one...

I mean shit you could save just one life by banning a million things, there has to be some minimum requirement..

[JoeChalupa]

Nah, not just for one life, if it saves 7 1/2 I'd say ban em, but not just one...

I mean shit you could save just one life by banning a million things, there has to be some minimum requirement..

I could live with that.

[Bigzax]

ban idiots that can't control their vehicle.

[Taco]

Shock, mysteries arise after doc's death

Ken Rodriguez - Ken Rodriguez

Emergency room workers at University Hospital are traumatized.

A beloved doctor who transformed the ER is dead, the victim of a jogging accident even police can't fully explain.

Dr. Michael Sanchez was running on the shoulder of Bandera Road on Sunday afternoon. A Ford Explorer inexplicably swerved from the middle lane, crossed the right-hand lane and struck Sanchez.

The doctor wound up in the ER — the department he directed — and in the hands of the surgeon who promoted him months earlier, Dr. Stephen Cohn.

Some colleagues say they are numb. Shocked. Others wonder how a man who did so much good could be taken so tragically.

“You want to make sense of something that is impossible to make sense of,” says Leni Kirkman, a friend of Sanchez and spokeswoman for University Health System. “You can't get your mind around it.”

Under Sanchez, ER waiting times were cut by 40 percent, says Sue McKinley, administrative director of the emergency center. Thanks to Sanchez, a physician now screens ER patients to determine whether they need urgent care or a referral.

Innovative is one word friends use to describe him. Outgoing and humorous are others. A man who spoke openly about his love for family and work is gone at 52. Why?

The account police took from the driver makes little sense.

According to the crash report, Philip Smith told an officer he was driving his SUV to a shop for brake repairs.

His cell phone rang, he answered it, he noticed Sanchez jogging. Then Smith says he hit the brakes, slid off the road and hit the doctor.

But why would he brake in the middle lane of a three-lane road for a jogger running on the shoulder?

“When we got to the scene,” says SAPD Sgt. Gabe Trevino, “things were not making sense.”

Sanchez hit the hood of the Explorer, then landed on the ground, his left arm pinned under the front passenger side tire.

The report describes Smith as “very shaky and unsteady on his feet.” The report notes someone called police before the crash, suspecting “a possible DWI.”

It's not hard to imagine a driver trembling after hitting a jogger. Even so, the officer at the scene administered a roadside sobriety test.

Smith passed. The report says he “showed no signs of intoxicants.”

The officer wasn't through yet. He asked for a blood draw. Smith consented. Trevino says it could be weeks before results are known.

Police impounded the Explorer and are investigating. I couldn't reach Smith for comment. He has not been charged.

“It's a very strange accident,” Trevino says. “We have to find out what made him veer so sharply to the right.”

Trevino says one of three things happened. The cell phone distracted Smith. The driver was under the influence of an intoxicant or drug. The SUV experienced mechanical failure, as Smith claims.

Some say Sanchez shouldn't have been running on the shoulder of a busy road with his back to traffic. Others say Smith shouldn't have answered his cell phone while driving.

Back in the ER, colleagues and friends are too stunned to try and make sense of what happened.

So they immerse themselves in work: dealing with round-the-clock trauma and death.

Call Ken Rodriguez at (210) 250-3369 or e-mail [email protected].








Find this article at:
http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local_news/Shock_mysteries_arise_after_docs_death.html

[ploto]

Sanchez shouldn't have been running on the shoulder of a busy road with his back to traffic.
I am sorry this happened to Dr. Sanchez, but I know that where I live I see joggers doing things they should not be doing. First, you do not run with the traffic. You run against it. I also see people all the time running in the middle of the street, running in all dark clothing in the dark, and running with headphones on. And they do this on busy, traffic-filled streets. Near Christmas, I saw a runner on the access road of 1604 between Lockhill-Selma and NW Military, running in the direction of the cars, in the right lane, and completely in black clothing in the dark with no reflectors or anything.

[EricB]

If it will save just one life..BAN THOSE DAMN CELL PHONES!!! .....and putting on make-up as well.


:lol


Wow....

[TDMVPDPOY]

joggin on the street when ur not suppose too, isnt that j-walking, and you will usually end up getting fined for that.....and mostly likely be in the wrong if ur caught in an accident with a vehicle....

i remember reading articles of ppl with ipods/walkmans crossing the street when there not suppose to, and getting hit by cars that are either turning into the corner or heading straight into them......