Left To Die: Off Duty EMTs In Question Suspended

NEW YORK (CBS) ― In Brooklyn the FDNY is investigating two emergency medical technicians for allegedly not rendering aid to a woman who ended up dying. Witnesses said the two EMTs didn't help because they were off duty.

Cynthia Rennix wants to know why the two off-duty emergency medical technicians walked away from her daughter and allowed her to die.

"I think it was unfair and unjust and very heartless," Rennix said.

Dead is 25-year-old Eutisha Rennix, who was six months pregnant. She was a cashier at a bakery in downtown Brooklyn, near the fire department's headquarters.

The victim's family said Eutisha Rennix suffered shortness of breath and collapsed with two off-duty EMTs in the store buying breakfast.

"After she collapsed they asked for help. They were told, call it in … because they were on a break. They got their bagels and coffee and left," Cynthia Rennix said.

Records show the first 911 call resulted in an ambulance from Long Island College Hospital dispatched at 9:13 a.m. and arriving at 9:24. But with Eutisha Rennix's condition worsening a fire department ambulance was also dispatched at 9:22, arriving at 9:28. At an area hospital she was declared dead at 10:17. Her baby was delivered, but died two hours later.

A source close to the investigation said the two EMTs were Jason Green and Melissa Jackson, who are dispatchers but were trained as EMTs. The EMTs have since been suspended pending the outcome of the investigation.

Union spokesman Bob Unger said this about the conduct:

"We never condone activity by our members that could harm the public. If these members are found to have violated department protocols, the FDNY has a process to deal with that."

Mayor Michael Bloomberg's reaction was swift.

"There's no excuse whatsoever," he said. "Just normal human beings. Drop your coffee and go help somebody if they're dying. Come on."

A source within the union said, "If the charges are true, why should we go out on a limb to defend these two and hurt our own good reputation?"

Eutisha Rennix and her baby were buried on Friday. The family is considering legal action against the two EMTs.

EMT Charged With Posting Photo of Corpse on Facebook

NEW YORK (CNN) -- A New York City emergency medical technician is facing misdemeanor charges after being accused of taking a picture of a female murder victim and then posting it to his Facebook page.

Mark Musarella, 49, was in court Thursday awaiting arraignment on charges of misdemeanor official misconduct. The retired New York Police detective is accused of posting the picture of a 26-year-old woman's corpse. The woman was found strangled with a hair-dryer cord March 30 on Staten Island, according to authorities, and a 28-year-old man has been charged in her death.

According to Musarella's lawyer, Edward J. Pavia Jr., the appearance of the photo on the social networking site was a technical mistake and not a morbid act. Pavia said years of working as a detective instinctively led Musarella to take the picture after he was called to the scene of the death.

"He's deeply sorry for any pain this incident has caused the family of the victim," Pavia told CNN by phone Thursday evening. "The posting of the photo was completely inadvertent, done completely by accident."

When asked how a photo could accidentally be posted to a Facebook page, Pavia said his client sent the photo along with many others on his camera phone without realizing it was still there.

"We will be able to prove very easily that this photo wasn't sent by itself, " said Pavia, adding that Musarella spent 20 years with the NYPD, and he was cited numerous times for honorable work.

Despite media reports that Musarella was fired from his job as an EMT at Richmond University Medical Center Hospital in Staten Island, Pavia insisted Musarella quit the job about three weeks ago.