CFD investigating after sheet placed over wounded teen who was still breathing

Chicago Fire Department officials say they are investigating why paramedics did not treat a 17-year-old boy “in a more timely manner” after they placed a sheet over him for several minutes before realizing he was still alive following a Monday morning shooting on the Near West Side.

Erin Carey was among six people shot about 4:50 a.m. Monday in the 1300 block of South Loomis, according to Chicago police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office. Paramedics placed the sheet over Carey before he was taken to Stroger Hospital in “very critical” condition, authorities said. The teen died Tuesday morning.

“We are reviewing dispatch recordings, phone calls and our paramedics to determine what did led to the patient being left under a sheet when he had not been pronounced dead, and in fact had life signs despite a traumatic wound from which he could not recover,” CFD spokesman Larry Langford said Tuesday.

WLS-TV (Channel 7) recorded video of the teen moving under the sheet and reported he was covered for several minutes before a paramedic uncovered him and began performing chest compressions.

“There’s also something going on that a lot of people forget, it’s known as triage,” CFD Commissioner Jose Santiago said Monday, referring to the practice of first responders sorting victims by medical priority in order to increase the number of survivors.

Shalonza E. McToy, 22, also suffered multiple gunshot wounds. She died at the scene of the shooting, which started with a fight at a party, police said. Four additional men in their 20s were wounded.

Area Central detectives are conducting a homicide investigation.