Baptist issues statement regarding officer-involved crash in Columbus
COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – Baptist Memorial Hospital issues its own statement about its involvement in the officer-involved crash in Columbus last month.
The health organization said quote, “We recently met with the mayor’s office to clarify the processes and response to the officer-involved car accident that occurred on July 16. While there was some initial confusion about what occurred, we can confirm Baptist Memorial Hospital-Golden Triangle’s staff followed their training and attempted to collect specimen samples from all drivers involved, which is our protocol for these situations. We have not experienced any changes in staffing or our procedures that would alter this practice. If there is a need to amend the procedure in the future, we will work with the City of Columbus to make any changes. We are grateful for our working relationship with both the City of Columbus and the Columbus Police Department, and we will continue to support the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office as they complete their investigation of this accident.” end quote.
The hospital goes on to say it will work with the city of Columbus to amend the procedure in the future if there’s a need.
City leaders recently released a statement saying protocol requires a city employee to promptly go to Baptist Golden Triangle after a vehicle accident, and the hospital shall do an alcohol and drug screen.
The statement went on to say that the BMH emergency department staff member who historically collected the samples for analysis had passed away, and the staff was confused.
In the press release, the city said the hospital has conducted training to ensure that prompt samples are collected in the future.
Officer Jeremy Harris did eventually produce a sample, the city said, once it “discovered the failure.”
