Nurse fired for comment about fatal crash

A Yuma, AZ nurse was fired last week after posting a social media comment casting blame on the victim of a fatal crash, according to the Yuma Sun.

Nurse Angela Gusta commented on a Sun online article that Todd McIntire, who died after his motorcycle hit an ambulance, was at fault for the accident. An investigation of the accident is pending.

If the ambulance was on a run and had lights or siren on, the cyclist was in the wrong, PERIOD. If he died, aw, but sorry, HIS FAULT. As an ER nurse who sees people REGULARLY not get out of the way of ambulances, cops firemen…Got no pity for anyone hit by any of the above. Pay attention and get out of the way (Gusta, YumaSun.com).

Gusta was let go from the Yuma Regional Medical Center following a slew of furious comments that came in response to her post.

The vice president of communications at the Yuma Regional Medical Center, Machele Headington, told the Sun this was the first time the company has fired an employee for a social media post.

“Most times we just let comments go by,” Headington said in a Sun interview. “Rarely do we comment on postings or even editorials, truly. We feel like people have the right to their opinion. But in this case, they were essentially putting YRMC in a position that would reflect to the (McIntire) family that we don’t care or have compassion for the situation. We don’t want that to be the case.”

What do you think: Was the center right to fire Gusta for her public lack of compassion? Or was the punishment far too extreme?

Source: Yuma Sun