Worried dad shocked by ticket

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Police say he hit 88 mph rushing ill son to hospital

Wednesday, April 8, 1998

BY KATHLEEN HILLENMEYER
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Tony Bamberger of Lawrenceburg, Ind., received a speeding ticket while he and his wife Tammy were rushing their son, Kyle, 2, to the hospital. (Steven M. Herppich photo) | ZOOM |

When his son Kyle's blood sugar level dropped to a dangerous level March 29, Tony Bamberger sped his 2-year-old to the nearest hospital where he could get help.

Racing down Interstate 75 that Sunday morning, the Bambergers were stopped by a Warren County sheriff's deputy, who -- after calling an ambulance for the ailing toddler -- cited Mr. Bamberger for speeding and failing to restrain Kyle in a car seat.

"We were shocked," said Tammy Bamberger of Lawrenceburg, Ind., whose husband will appear in Lebanon Municipal Court on Thursday on the citations. "We could not believe he's issuing us this ticket, and our son is laying in my arms and could possibly die."

The citations could cost Mr. Bamberger $157 in fines and a loss of points on his truck driver's license.

"At the time, getting a citation was the last thing I was worried about," Mr. Bamberger, 26, said. "I was more concerned about Kyle."

The harried trip to Children's Hospital Medical Center in Cincinnati marked the fifth time the Bambergers rushed their son there for treatment of a rare enzyme deficiency.

A metabolic specialist at Children's, Dr. Nancy Leslie, has treated Kyle for Fructose-1,6-diphosphatase deficiency. The condition robs him of enzymes needed to break down starch into glucose, and it can prompt seizures and other medical complications if blood sugar levels drop too low.

"It's not something that would cause sudden death," Kyle's pediatrician, Dr. Libbey Spiess, said Tuesday. "But it could lead to seizures, and if untreated it could result in brain damage and death."

While visiting in-laws in Kettering, Ohio, that weekend, the Bambergers hurried to Children's Hospital when Kyle's vomiting spells signaled another plunge in his glucose level. With her son's blood sugar hovering around 50 (80 or above is normal), the parents figured there was just enough time to reach Cincinnati, where specialists knew Kyle's medical history. Opting for the nearby Children's Hospital in Dayton -- a route Warren County police suggested they should have taken -- did not occur to them.

Tammy Bamberger and her son, Kyle. (Steven M. Herppich photo) | ZOOM |

"I was scared to death," Mrs. Bamberger said. "I know what we did was wrong. But at the point when your child's life is in danger, anybody would do whatever they could."

When veteran Warren County Deputy Willy Pogue clocked the Bambergers' car at 88 mph on southbound I-75, traffic on the highway near Monroe was "moderate," according to the ticket issued at 5:35 a.m. The pre-dawn visibility was low.

Mrs. Bamberger, nine months' pregnant, held Kyle on her lap so she could keep a closer eye on his changing condition.

"What would have happened if they had gotten into an accident?" Warren County Sheriff Tom Ariss said.

After Deputy Pogue pulled over the Bambergers at an I-75 rest stop, a life squad arrived eight minutes later.

With Kyle's blood sugar near 40, it took emergency medical technicians a half hour to stabilize him before he was transported to Children's Hospital. Kyle was admitted and released the next day.

"What if (the Bambergers) had gone on and there was no help out there for the child?" Sheriff Ariss said. "They may have had to drive faster, putting other people in jeopardy, including themselves." Thursday, Mr. Bamberger will plead for leniency in court. "Maybe the judge will have a little more compassion than the police officer did," he said.

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Worried dad shocked by ticket