MedStar says one of its dispatchers is lucky to be alive after a man robbed him at gunpoint early Saturday morning.
It happened at around 5:30 a.m. in the 5900 block of State Highway 183 in Fort Worth.
According to MedStar, the unidentified employee was driving home from work when he saw a car on the side of the road flashing its lights and a man next to it trying to flag somebody down. He pulled over to help the man.
“We are in the life saving business,” said Matt Zavadsky, spokesperson for MedStar. “We are in the helping business. So it is very natural, even off-duty for one of our employees to want to help people who are on the side of the road.”
Fort Worth Police say after a brief conversation, the man got into the dispatcher’s car and pulled out a gun. He then demanded the dispatcher take him to an ATM to get cash.
“Kudos to the employee for stopping and trying to help,” said Zavadsky. “It’s just unfortunate there was a nefarious outcome.”
After the bank stop, police say the gunman forced the dispatcher to buy several items at a store. They finally ended up a nearby park.
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Zavadsky says that’s when gunman told the dispatcher this was normally the point when he’d shoot him -- but because he helped save lives, he was going to let him go.
“To some extent, the fact that he was still in uniform and had complied with everything that they’d wanted him to do essentially saved his life,” said Zavadsky.
Police say gunman took the dispatcher’s cell phone, then grabbed the car keys and threw them into a field before running away.
The dispatcher found the keys and drove back to the MedStar office to report the crime.
“He was obviously very shaken up,” said Zavadsky. “We gave him tonight off. He was supposed to come back to work tonight, but he has the night off so he can have a good rest.”
Police continue to investigate.
