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Doctor Pulled Over Trying to Save Patient
Although this article is a bit old, I think it nevertheless warrants some discussion.
Toronto police have no regrets about ticketing MD speeding to heart surgery
Toronto police say they did the right thing in pulling over a surgeon who was speeding on his way to perform emergency surgery on Saturday.
Dr. Michael Kutryk was pulled over near Bayview and Moore avenues by police, who clocked him at 75 km/h in a 40 km/h zone.
Although he was on his way to perform surgery on a heart attack patient, Dr. Kutryk was still issued a $300 speeding ticket.
“This is an issue of public safety,” Mark Pugash, spokesperson for Toronto Police, said today. “If in the middle of winter you have someone driving at twice the speed limit, they present a risk to themselves and others.”
Mr. Pugash noted there are hundreds of doctors on call at any time in the city of Toronto who manage to be on call while obeying the speed limits. He said he has spoken to a number of doctors, who all believe that issuing Dr. Kutryk a ticket was the right thing.
According to Mr. Pugash, the officer involved believed there was a significant risk to public safety, otherwise he would not have pulled over the cardiologist.
“Nobody else would understand why he was speeding,” Mr. Pugash said, in reference to other cars on the road. “Emergency vehicles have lights.”
Dr. Kutryk was delayed but arrived at the hospital in time to perform an angioplasty on 47-year-old Jeffrey Halstrom, who is currently in recovery.
Dr. Kutryk has chosen not to discuss the incident, but a statement from St. Michael’s Hospital said he regrets speeding to the hospital, and mentioning his ticket to the patient’s family, and that he will “continue to do what he does best – caring for patients.”
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