A Chicago father who suffered a heart attack on Sept. 27 is outraged his son was given a speeding ticket while trying to rush him to the emergency room.
William O’Neil told the Chicago Sun-Times that a trooper wrote a $1,500 ticket for his son, Michael, even after an ambulance came to the scene to deliver William to the hospital. Illinois State Police officials said they’ve looked into the incident and found nothing inappropriate.
“If that’s the attitude in general, we all have a problem,” William said.
"He said, ‘You don’t look like you’re having a heart attack,’ which, you know, um, was pretty rough"
Asked about the complaint, a police spokesman told the Sun-Times: “Mr. O’Neil’s recollection of the events [is] not accurate to what occurred on the officer’s in-car video. The officer’s conduct was proper and within policy during the incident.”
William, 60, had a heart attack four years ago, so when he felt chest and shoulder pain again last month, he told his 30-year-old son, “We’re going to have to go to the hospital.”
Michael was allegedly going 82 mph in a 55 mph zone when he was pulled over. The trooper walked over to William on the passenger side and asked him what was going on.
“And I said, ‘I think I’m having a heart attack. We’re on the way to the hospital,” William said.
William then showed the trooper his bag of medication.
“I lifted it up and he said, ‘You don’t look like you’re having a heart attack,’ which, you know, um, was pretty rough,” he said. “I mean, that’s pretty rough.”
Eventually an ambulance was called to ferry William to the hospital and, after he left, the trooper finished ticketing Michael.
“The last thing he said to me was something like, ‘You need to slow down next time,'” Michael said.
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