Friday, August 31, 2012

** North Carolina EMT found dead at home

** New New Jersey law bars first responders from taking and sharing MVA victim photos

UNITED STATES NEWS

** Autopsy results are pending for a North Carolina EMT found dead in his home Monday. WECT (August 28) said Brunswick County provider Jack Snoddy died from unknown causes in the early afternoon hours. A medic who rotated shifts at various locales throughout the county, Snoddy had both a daughter and son-in-law who followed in his footsteps to work EMS. A Jacksonville coroner has been tasked with identifying how Snoddy died.

** New Jersey first responders, trying to take pictures of MVA victims for social networking sites, will likely think twice now that a new law criminalizes the action. The Express-Times (Kathryn Brenzel/August 26) said the statute, passed earlier this month, could net convicted offenders up to six months in the clink. The legislation is dubbed Cathy’s Law, after 2009 car wreck victim Cathy Bates’ picture made it onto the Internet before her family was informed of her death. Under the new guideline, medics must have express permission from family members before sharing such photos. Pictures for training or investigative purposes are still permitted. Snaps taken by members of the public, however, are not addressed under the statute.