Family says Galveston Co. jailers didn't tell them of woman's emergency before she died at hospital

GALVESTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A family is questioning why Galveston County jailers didn't immediately tell them that their loved one was being rushed to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

According to the Galveston County Sheriff's Office, 32-year-old Brittany Nicole Anderson was transported to the University of Texas Medical Branch on Thursday morning.

The sheriff's office said jail and medical staff found the mother of five children alone and unresponsive in a padded cell. Staff tried administering CPR and got a pulse before rushing her to the hospital.

GCSO added that Anderson, who was jailed for nine days for a probation violation, got into an altercation with staff in a secured part of the jail the prior afternoon.

Sheriff Henry Trochesset couldn't confirm when she was scheduled for her medical examination, believing it to be on Wednesday.

Hours after their loved one's death, Anderson's family spoke to Eyewitness News, left without a family member and answers.

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Given that Anderson had a pulse before arriving at the hospital, the family said they didn't understand why they weren't notified. Instead, UTMB made the call to her mother when it was too late.

"If y'all would have just reached out like y'all were supposed to, we would have been able to be there for that," Anderson's cousin Jarnae McGaskey said. "Y'all took that from us. We need answers for that. Her kids need answers for that."

The bottom line for the family is regardless of her past, which included a child abandonment charge two years ago, the jail was a place where she was supposed to be safe.

"The background of the victim - it really doesn't matter. What matters is they were in the hands of trained professionals that should be able to deal with certain situations when these people are seeking the help they need," another cousin, Danny Thompson, said, with relatives feeling that there's more to the story.

"She was still a sister. She was still a mother. She was still a daughter. She was still a cousin. She was still a friend. She still mattered, whether she was on drugs, whether she was sick, whether she was ill, her life still mattered," Anderson's cousin Jarnae McGaskey said.

In the meantime, Anderson's family is requesting for video from inside the jail.

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