Mike Ferguson on the failure of the 911 system in St. Louis City

Mike Ferguson detailed how his friend and teammate suffered a cardiac arrest playing baseball at Forest Park. He was put on hold when calling 911 in St. Louis City. The delay may have cost his friend his life.

This story was reported by KSDK

(KS DK STORY) ST. LOUIS — Mike Harris and Mike Ferguson have shared some great memories together at Aviation Field at Forest Park – but now, they can’t walk into the dugout without tears filling their eyes.

It’s the last place where they saw their friend and teammate Brian Zanghi alive.

He suffered a cardiac arrest there on June 17. He didn’t survive. He was 48 years old.

Now, his teammates say they’ll never know whether delays by the city’s troubled 911 system or a lack of nearby defibrillators at the city’s largest and busiest public park played a role in his death.

“I don’t know if Brian would have had a chance if they’d gotten here in the time frame they should have, but that’s kind of the point,” Ferguson said. “We’ll never know if he had a chance because they didn’t get here for so long. And if it didn’t matter for Brian, it may matter to the next person that needs emergency help.”

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Brian Zanghi was 47 years old when he had a cardiac arrest while playing baseball. Friends say they were put on hold with 911, delaying EMS response https://t.co/KsZ8AkPe9f
— KSDK News (@ksdknews) July 26, 2023