Widow outraged after husband's body left outside for hours

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A widow is upset after EMS workers left her husband's body on the side of a street for hours.

Julie Ross says her husband passed away due to a massive heart attack while walking his dogs near their home earlier this month.  A neighbor called EMS and paramedics tried to revive Ty Ross, but were unsuccessful. He was pronounced dead around 8:45 a.m.

Paramedics at some point left the scene -- and left the body behind.

Deputies with the Manatee County Sheriff's Office stayed by the body but could not transport it anywhere since it was not involved in a crime.

Julie Ross arrived about an hour and a half after her husband was found dead because she was not near her cell phone when first responders tried getting in touch with her. Ross says she had to wait another hour and a half for a funeral home to come pick up her husband's body.

“I think if a person dies in a public place the least they can do is put him in the shade or at least take him out of the street it’s not even safe he could have been run over,” said Ross.

EMS says they aren't required to transport bodies to funeral homes if the person died before they arrive.  But given the concern this situation caused, they say they will be meeting with the sheriff's office to review the policy.