Around three years ago, a man driving in Greene County, Mo., was detained on Driving Under the Influence Charges. A recently filed complaint alleges that he wasn’t drunk at all, and instead was suffering from a stroke.
Several defendants are named in the lawsuit, uploaded by Law & Crime. They include Kyle Winchell, a deputy with the Greene County Sheriffs Office, as well as medical professionals and jail staff. It alleges that Winchell pulled over plaintiff Paul Espinosa, then 54, on July 21, 2022 while Espinosa was driving to an Amazon warehouse and said in a report that Espinosa was weaving in traffic.
It further alleges that Winchell suspected Espinosa of Driving While Intoxicated, though the plaintiff denied that he was. A breathalyzer test confirmed that Espinosa was not under the influence of alcohol. Further tests also indicated that Espinosa was not under the influence of substances, said the complaint.
Winchell took Espinosa into custody on DWI charges and noticed in his vehicle that the man was wet with sweat despite the air conditioning being on. He also noticed that Espinosa had tremors. He was also swaying, staggering and apparently declining motor skills. Per the complaint, there was a visible decline in Espinosa’s mental status from the time he was taken into custody to the time he arrived at the Greene County jail at 7 p.m.
At the jail, Espinosa could be seen having difficulty standing and following instructions during a blood draw he consented to. At around 8:46 p.m., he was found slumped over in a holding cell. When he was roused awake, a medical professional noted that his pupils were non-reactive and that he seemed confused, among other concerning symptoms.
However, he wasn’t transported to Cox North Hospital until 2 a.m. According to the complaint, authorities gave the hospital staff incorrect information about how Espinosa came to be in police custody and Espinosa himself struggled to explain what was going on.
At the hospital, Espinosa was diagnosed with a cerebral stroke, the complaint said. He was then transported to the Cox South Emergency Department to receive intensive care.
“A stroke happens when there is a loss of blood flow to part of the brain. Your brain cells cannot get the oxygen and nutrients they need from blood, and they start to die within a few minutes,” according to MedlinePlus. “This can cause lasting brain damage, long-term disability, or even death.”
In Espinosa’s case, the complaint said the stroke left him blind, in addition to other impairments of his mind and body. It also alleges that the defendants failed to provide timely medical care to Espinosa, including a clot dissolving medication that should be administered shortly after the onset of stroke symptoms. His wife, Kim, was also named as a plaintiff in the case, as she is responsible for the costs of his medical care.
“McClatchy News reached out to Greene County officials for comment May 13 but did not immediately hear back,” said a report published in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
The Springfield News-Leader reported this week that it obtained an incident report completed by Winchell that noted the traffic weaving as well as the plaintiff’s “glassy eyes.” That report added that the Sheriff’s office Public Information Officer, Derek James, said the office “cannot comment on ongoing litigation.”