Community | December 16, 2009 | 7 comments

Florida man dies after 20-hour response to 911 call

source: http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2009-12-16-911-mixup-florida_N.htm?csp=34&utm_source=fee...

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"NORTH PORT, Fla. — It was an urgent call for help that didn't receive an urgent response.
After Brian Wood, 55, crashed his pickup into a pole on Friday, he got out and sat down nearby. A motorist saw him on the ground and called 911, but since he couldn't remember the exact name of the road, the North Port Police Department call-taker never dispatched an officer.

Twenty hours later, when officers finally arrived after a second 911 call, they found Wood had eventually died from his injuries.

"I'm trying to think if it's Lovebird or Lovesong," Mark Minisci Jr. told the 911 operator, trying to remember the name of the street. He even provided directions.

But the crash was on Lovering Avenue, and the frustrated call-taker told Minisci that the NPPD system "doesn't work like that" and she "(had) to have something."

Chief Terry Lewis took responsibility for the mistake on Tuesday, calling it either human error or a policy problem."

Read more in the full article (linked below):

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2009-12-16-911-mixup-florida_N.htm?csp=34&am...:%20UsatodaycomNation-TopStories%20(News%20-%20Nation%20-%20Top%20Stories)
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7 comments // Florida man dies after 20-hour response to 911 call

  • div
    • 0
      div  

    • There is so much more the operator could have done to help this man. For instance, try to locate him using his known route.

      People just don't try hard enough these days. It's not about quality, it's about quantity. Just because his call would have taken time, the operator let it go to help someone else (who may have even been a prank caller, knowing the situation of 911 calls these days).

      I've worked in a call center and I know the stress level that goes on when someone calls you without knowing what they're on about. It takes a shitload of patience every day to not start screaming at them, especially when they become belligerent. My job wasn't even that important though, and I still put in an effort. 911 deals with people's LIVES and they don't send services sometimes to people in real trouble. How craptastic is that?

    • 2 years ago
  • artemis6
  • cztheday
    • 0
      cztheday  

    • The lawsuit will, of course, turn on expert testimony as to the likelihood that he would have died even if the response had arrived in a timely manner...but humans are capable of amazing feats of recovery...if only they are given a chance to do so...tragically, this poor guy didn't get that chance. The dispatcher screwed up. But it is a helluva tough job, and at least in my jurisdiction, the pay for all that pressure is abysmal...

    • 2 years ago
  • TabulaRasa
  • littleredmachine
    • 0
      littleredmachine  

    • It seems like 911 dispatch should have access to a database listing every street name in their area. If they don't, it would be a simple solution. The person knew the road started with "Love" and it would have been easy to pull up roads that started with that.

      And, as mentioned by Commentor, if there were at least major cross roads given, she should have been able to look it up on Google Maps and had at least a vague idea of where to send someone.

    • 2 years ago
  • Commentor
  • Viadeluna
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