MACON, Ga. — Sheriff David Davis called Saturday's collection of shootings 'disaster and mayhem.' A block party turned deadly, left at least six people with gunshot wounds and one man dead. The victim that died, 22-year old Deroderick Ridley, was one of two victims taken to the hospital by something other than an ambulance.
Sheriff David Davis said that was because there were no ambulances available at the time.
"You can't ever figure that this is going to happen. It happens once, in a great period of time, when all of the EMS resources are taxed," Davis said.
Macon is divided into two 911 zones to determine which emergency medical agency responds: Navicent Health or Community Ambulance. Saturday's shootings fell to Community, according to a release from the agency. In a statement they said all six of their available "Advanced Life Support (ALS)" units, were dispatched to six different locations:
- 9:44 p.m. - Lawton Road
- 9:44 p.m. - Robinson Road
- 9:56 p.m. - Suzanne Drive
- 10:08 p.m. - Log Cabin Drive
- 10:22 p.m. - Suzanne Drive at Robinson Road
- 10:44 p.m. - Napier Avenue
Community Ambulance said EMS personnel arrived to the sixth call within eight minutes and saw a patrol car leaving the scene. It's likely that patrol car held Ridley on the way to the hospital.
"The sheriff's office was told there were no ambulances available, so the deputies had to take action," Davis said.
He said despite the efforts of two deputies to give Ridley CPR and get him to a hospital, he was later pronounced dead. Davis said both the sheriff's office and EMS were stretched thin Saturday night.
"You know that the EMS, for the deputies to say that they were overwhelmed would almost be an understatement," he said.
All six of the EMS calls are near where Saturday's party, which took place at the corner of Suzanne and Robinson Drives. In a statement, Community Ambulance Vice President Joe Robinson said all of their personnel were working together to respond.
"During a large, chaotic event like this, it is all hands on deck. We are thankful for the great working relationship we have with our local sheriff’s office, fire department, Navicent EMS, and with our neighbors at Houston EMS and Monroe County EMS," Robinson said. "We are all working together for the same goal--to take care of our community and get people the help they need when they need it the most."
They also said Sunday morning they did a thorough review of the night's events, including analyzing audio tapes, pre-arrival instructions, and protocol adherence.
K'Juan Dawson says he grew up with Ridley and he'll miss his childhood friend.
"I hate that that happened, because that was a good friend of mine," Dawson said. "But hey, you know what I'm saying? God doesn't make mistakes."