The Nation - News from Dec. 14, 1988

A 9-year-old asthmatic boy died in Chicago after paramedics refused to enter the public housing project where he lived, and the boy’s mother disputed officials’ claim that the ambulance waited for police protection because it was pelted with eggs. “We’ll pull our radio tapes and speak to people and try to get a blow-by-blow of what happened,” Fire Department spokesman Bill Crowley said. He refused to identify the two paramedics who were summoned by an emergency call Monday. They were not aware of the seriousness of Carl Jarnagin’s health problem when they arrived at the South Side building, Crowley said. The paramedics left because there were “objects hitting the vehicle” and returned with police protection, too late to revive Carl, he said.