Overview
- Fifteen-year-old Amanda “Mandy” Sylvester collapsed at volleyball practice and was taken to hospital after her mother drove her there, with the collapse occurring on Dec. 5, 2024.
- The family’s complaint says Grady EMS had no ambulance available when the first 911 call came, that callers were not told of the shortage for more than 20 minutes, and that those delays forced the mother to transport Amanda.
- Grady EMS says the first call was triaged as low-acuity, that a second call upgraded the incident and prompted an ambulance dispatch, and that the dispatched unit was later canceled when family transport was reported.
- Civil rights attorney Ben Crump and the Sylvester family held a news conference and filed a multimillion-dollar wrongful-death lawsuit on June 19, 2026 seeking accountability and legal review of Grady’s decisions.
- The case spotlights how 911 triage, mutual-aid rules requiring requests for outside help when units are unavailable, and local EMS capacity affect outcomes and may prompt policy and oversight changes for youth-sports emergency care.