The family of an asthma-stricken pregnant woman who died gasping for breath at a Downtown cafe as two city EMTs stood idly by has sued the city.
The family of Eutisha Rennix is not only claiming that the emergency medical workers failed to act, but also that the ambulance dispatched from Long Island College Hospital wasn’t equipped with the medication needed to save her.
“It was a combination of wrongful acts,” explained attorney Sanford Rubenstein, who is representing the family.
Rennix, who was eight months pregnant, died last Dec. 9 after succumbing to an asthma attack inside the Au Bon Pain in the Metrotech Center on Jay Street.
At the time, witnesses said paramedics Melisa Jackson and Jason Green were getting coffee, but did nothing to assist the East Flatbush resident.
The ambulance failed to save Rennix, and by the time a second ambulance — this one with the appropriate medication — arrived, Rennix had been without oxygen for too long. Doctors managed to save Rennix’s baby boy, but the newborn lived for just two days.
Jackson and Green were suspended for 30 days.
Rennix’s family is seeking unspecified damages from the city, the FDNY and Long Island College Hospital.
A spokesman for Law Department said attorneys were reviewing the suit and preparing their response. Long Island College Hospital declined comment this week.
District Attorney Charles Hynes launched an investigation into Rennix’s death, but has yet to release his findings.
