2 EMTs suspended for ignoring call while live-streaming incident

The EMTs were live-streaming on Periscope when an emergency call came in and they remained at the drive-thru

James Hovan in a screehshot from the live-stream videoNews 12 New Jersey 

NEWARK -- Two EMS workers for a hospital in Newark were suspended without pay for waiting more than several minutes for their dinner at a drive-thru restaurant before responding to a call, according to a report.

The incident, which occurred Thursday night at the White Castle in Newark, was captured on live-streaming video, prompting at least one viewer of the Periscope video to question why the EMTs, who work for University Hospital, didn't immediately head out to the call, reports New 12 New Jersey.

At one point, one of the workers responds to the viewer by saying he wasn't about to leave his dinner waiting while they responded to a call that was most likely a "taxi ride," a reference to people feigning life-threatening emergencies to get transportation to the hospital for non-emergency conditions.

"I'd be willing to bet my paycheck this is a taxi ride," EMS worker James Hovan is heard saying on the video.

They eventually responded to a second call, but after they had received their dinner, which included an order of mozzarella sticks for Hovan, according to the video.

Hospital spokeswoman Stacie Newton told News 12 Hovan and his partner were on unpaid administrative leave.

"University Hospital is deeply concerned about this matter.  The individuals involved have been placed on unpaid administrative leave pending an investigation," Newton told NJ Advance Media.