Investigation underway into emergency response after Wake man dies from cardiac arrest

An investigation was underway Friday into the emergency response for a man who died from cardiac arrest last week.

Retired Wake County Magistrate Steven Tibbetts, 63, initially complained of chest pain and weakness in his legs on the morning of April 5, according to a report from the Fuquay-Varina Police Department. A family member began driving him to a nearby hospital when he became unresponsive.

The driver called 911 at 7:57 a.m. and pulled into John Heister Chevrolet on Main Street.

An employee noticed there was a medical emergency and said he called 911 between 8:08 and 8:10 a.m.

While waiting for an ambulance, two people performed CPR on Tibbetts in the car lot.

An ambulance arrived at 8:15 a.m., 18 minutes after the first call. Tibbetts was taken to UNC Rex Healthcare, where he was pronounced dead.

WRAL News learned Friday that a high-level meeting was held on Thursday to discuss the 911 calls. The City of Raleigh oversees the staff of the joint Raleigh-Wake 911 Center.

WRAL has submitted several public records requests to the City of Raleigh, and officials have declined to provide much of what was requested.

WRAL's attorneys believe that's in error and are working on trying to obtain the requested information.

When WRAL reached out to Tibbetts' family, they were surprised to learn an investigation was underway.