El Paso FD: 1 taken to hospital from BOTA with life-threatening injuries

One person was transported to University Medical Center with life-threatening injuries from the Bridge of the Americas Wednesday afternoon.

El Paso Fire Department Assistant Chief Rick Carson said people needing medical attention being taken from Juarez to El Paso is a common occurrence.

“We’ve been to the BOTA bridge, 176 responses this year,” Carson said.

Emergency crews are also called to other ports of entry, such as Paso del Norte, where incidents are typically not as serious.

“We’ve been out there 261 times since January 1 of this year,” Carson said.

Serious or not the majority of the calls for assistance are coming from people who reside stateside.

“They’re American citizens requesting to go to the hospital,” Carson said.

As to whether or not their injuries are related to medical issues or violence, Carson said it’s a mixture of both, but crews work to render aide as quickly as possible.

“Usually it’s a load-and-go situation,” Carson said.

“They’ve got a lane for us to get in and out of pretty quick.”