Paul Tarashuk's parents discuss son's death, lack of EMS care: 'They didn't do their job.'

Thursday, August 1, 2019

ORANGEBURG COUNTY, SC (WRDW/WAGT) -- Months after her son's death on Interstate 95 in Orangeburg County, Paul Tarashuk's family spoke with CBS News.

"Talking about him gets me really upset," Cindy Tarashuk, Paul's mother, said to CBS' Jim Axelrod. "Talking about this stuff gets me angry."

As reported over the past several months by News 12, Paul was initially treated on the side of I-95 by an EMS crew called to the scene after he was spotted nude on top of a tractor trailer.

That crew, along with the Santee Police Department and the Orangeburg County Sheriff's Office, attempted to obtain information from Paul, but he was suffering from a schizophrenic breakdown at the time of the incident.

As a result, according to information and body cameras obtained by News 12, Paul was dropped off at a nearby closed gas station instead of taken to the hospital.

Surveillance footage at the gas station shows Paul being dropped off. It was the last footage of him alive.

"It's just watching him walk to his death. He was escorted by an officer to his death," Cindy said in the interview.

Paul later died that morning after he was hit by a car when he was walking down I-95.

SLED has opened an investigation into the case, but that's not stopping the Tarashuk family from seeking justice for their son through the court system.

"They didn't do their job. That's it," Cindy said. "They just didn't do their job. They didn't care enough about human life to do their job."

The family has filed a lawsuit against several of the law enforcement agencies who responded in this case.