Jessamine EMS chief cleared by KBEMS

Jessamine County EMS director Jerry Domidion has been cleared of allegations he purposely withheld transport and aid to an EMT at the scene of a multi-vehicle wreck involving an ambulance in February that sent nine people to the hospital.

State investigator Sam Lowe presented his findings to three members of the Kentucky Board of Emergency Medical Services (KBEMS) in Versailles last Wednesday, Oct. 17.

KBEMS found no fault in Domidion’s procedures at the scene of the ambulance wreck that involved EMT Amanda Wood.

The board also heard testimony from Amanda’s husband, former Jessamine County EMT Andrew Wood, who filed the complaint against Domidion. Andrew Wood had audio tapes and transcripts of the radio and E-911 calls; they were not played.

County Attorney Brian Goettl represented Domidion and said little to the board, explaining that he had filed a written response to each of Wood’s allegations.

At approximately 12:30 p.m. Feb. 11, the ambulance was traveling north on U.S. 27 on an emergency call, with a patient and Amanda Wood providing care in the back, when it ran a red light.

With emergency sirens on, the ambulance collided with a truck headed eastbound on Ky. 169 that had a green light to cross the intersection, according to a police report.

The ambulance driver was 19-year-old Samuel T. Sparks, was also injured and has been sued by one of the parties involved in the accident. However, since he is no longer an employee of the county, the burden falls on him, Domidion said.

In the accident, Amanda Wood was pinned by the stretcher mount in the back of the ambulance and later freed by members of the Nicholasville Fire Department.

According to Andrew Wood’s complaint, despite not being employed with Jessamine County EMS, he responded to the scene nearly 30 minutes after the wreck occurred.

Andrew Wood acted on scene and even administered an IV to his then-fiancée.

He states that he was “outraged” to find out that Domidion had called off mutual aid and that the ambulance would not return until it had dropped off the other patients at a Lexington hospital. 

“It make no sense when we’re literally at the doorstep of (Saint Joseph-Jessamine RJ Corman Ambulatory Care Center) just feet away,” Andrew Wood said.

Domidion’s recollection of the events in his written response does not fully corroborate Andrew Wood’s story.

Domidion stated that Amanda Wood was never “trapped” because the fire department only had to push away the stretcher that hit her in her lower leg.

He also contested that mutual aid was canceled, stating he had Garrard and another county on standby. He also refuted that there was a slow response time by EMS.

After hearing both sides, the KBEMS took a 15-minute executive session before finding Domidion acted accordingly and did not violate any of their bylaws or procedures. The board found there was no cause for reprimand, discipline or comment on the issue.

“It was just a real disappointment,” Andrew Wood said after the hearing. “But it’s not over by any means.”

Andrew Wood said he also was concerned about the board members selected to hear the complaint.

Despite the decision in the hearing, Andrew Wood still has a lawsuit against Domidion and the fiscal court that alleges wrongful termination and retaliation stemming from the same incident.

That suit states Domidion’s actions at the scene of the accident and other incidents over the past year have occurred because of Wood’s support of a sexual harassment claim by former EMT Tina Griggs.

That suit remains in a state of discovery, and the Griggs complaint is currently hearing testimony in court.