The State - News from Feb. 5, 1985

A Contra Costa County official called for an investigation into the case of a stabbing victim who was refused treatment at three Richmond area hospitals before being transferred to San Francisco, where he died. Eugene Barnes, 32, lay wounded for four hours while a hospital tried “desperately” to find a neurosurgeon at three other hospitals. Nancy Fahden, chairwoman of the county Board of Supervisors, demanded an investigation into why Barnes was unable to get treatment at Contra Costa Hospital, one of three that said it was unable to treat him. “There may have been unusual circumstances surrounding this,” she said. “I want to know what the reason is. If he was turned away, I want to know why.” Barnes was found unconscious Jan. 28 in Richmond, across the bay from San Francisco, after being stabbed in the left temple and right hand in what family friends described as an argument with another Richmond man.