Paramedics

The theories are plenty, and also without merit. Claims that Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian doesn’t take injured, uninsured patients or that Hoag doesn’t want people critically injured because it will affect their mortality statistics come up every now and then. A perfect example: a Mexican immigrant seriously injured Feb. 1 by a hit-and-run driver at Placentia Avenue and Hospital Road in Newport Beach, literally footsteps away from Hoag. Where did paramedics take him?

COSTA MESA — City leaders' idea to add private paramedics to the county's roster doesn't have a pulse, at least for now, City Councilman Jim Righeimer said Wednesday. "We don't need one more request for proposals right now," Righeimer said. "It's not a pressing issue. " The idea, first pitched by Righeimer, was to have Care Ambulance employees work as paramedics, a higher designation than the emergency medical technician, or EMT, duties they now have. Critics claimed the move would be the first step toward laying off Costa Mesa paramedics and displacing them with Care employees, who respond to medical emergencies along with firefighters anyway.

A motorcycle and vehicle collided Tuesday afternoon at Placentia Avenue and Joann Street in Costa Mesa, sending at least one person to the hospital. Rescue workers received a call about the accident at about 3:15 p.m., Lt. Paul Dondero said. Paramedics rushed the motorcyclist to Western Medical Center in Santa Ana with significant injuries, Dondero said. The Costa Mesa Police Department’s Major Accident Investigation Team as at the scene, he said. More details to follow as the story develops.

A Newport Beach woman is seeking tens of millions of dollars in damages from the city, claiming police erroneously arrested her husband who had bipolar disorder and killed himself in jail. Sandy Wedgeworth, 34, and family members filed four claims against Newport Beach on Monday seeking upward of $34 million in damages from emotional distress, loss of a husband and father, and loss of future earnings. William Robert Wedgeworth, 43, hanged himself with bedsheets in a Newport Beach Police Department jail cell July 31. Police had arrested him earlier in the day on suspicion of spousal abuse against his wife.

A Southern California Edison employee is recovering from a severe burn to his hand in a Los Angeles County hospital burn center, a day after he was injured at a Costa Mesa business, company officials said. The company declined to identify the employee, but said he is a trouble-shooter for the company who fixes problems for customers at all times, day or night. The Edison employee was called to a dental office at 2000 Harbor Blvd. in Costa Mesa on Wednesday afternoon to fix an electrical problem, said company spokesman Steve Conroy.

Deepa Bharath An infant girl, who was rushed to Hoag Hospital in critical condition Friday after falling into a Corona del Mar backyard pool, died early Saturday morning. Roxane Swanson, 1, died of freshwater drowning, Orange County Coroner's officials said. Newport Beach firefighters and paramedics responded to the call that came in around 3 p.m. Friday. When paramedics arrived at the Cameo Shores home, they found the mother giving CPR to her baby, officials said.

A man arrested on suspicion of spousal battery apparently hanged himself within hours of being booked into the Newport Beach city jail on Saturday. William Robert Wedgeworth, 43, was found dead by a custodial officer around 10 p.m. He had been booked earlier in the day at 3:40 p.m. on suspicion of spousal battery, Lt. Bill Hartford said. Attempts to resuscitate him by paramedics were unsuccessful. Wedgeworth was pronounced dead at the scene, Hartford said. Hartford was unable to say whether Wedgeworth had any prior arrests.

Newport Beach police officers got a man's heart beating again after he was found unresponsive after a minor car accident in a McDonald's drive-thru, police said Monday. Police received a call at 9 p.m. Sunday about a crash at the McDonald's at 700 W. Coast Hwy. When they arrived, they found a vehicle at the end of the drive-thru, where it had crashed into a parked vehicle, according to the Newport Beach Police Department. Officer Robert Bennett couldn't detect a pulse on the middle-aged man's wrist or neck.

The stories read like TV plotlines: a daring ocean rescue of a swimmer facedown in the water, revivals of choking babies close to death, a man pulled from a burning building through a second-story window, flames licking at his back. But at a Thursday-morning awards ceremony, Newport Beach Fire Department officials said that intense training and dedication make such heroics another part of real everyday life for the city's sworn employees. "If you asked any of the recipients, they'd simply say they were just doing their jobs," Assistant Fire Chief Kevin Kitch told an audience gathered in the old City Council Chambers on Newport Boulevard.

A 25-year-old Fountain Valley man remained in critical condition Saturday after a car struck him on Newport Boulevard on Friday night. The man was walking across Newport Boulevard at Hospital Road when a car hit him around 11:50 p.m. Friday, Newport Beach Lt. Bill Hartford said. Paramedics took the man to Western Medical Center in Santa Ana. The driver of the car was not arrested at the time of the accident, which is still under investigation, Hartford said.