AURORA, Colo.—The family of a Detroit woman who died of congestive heart failure in her son’s driveway in Aurora blames a 911 dispatcher’s mistake that sent emergency responders in the wrong direction.
KCNC-TV in Denver reports that when 64-year-old Sandra Lowman became short of breath April 3, her family called 911 and gave their address in Aurora.
The city says incorrect address data in its dispatch system gave dispatchers a choice of sending help to Aurora or Arapahoe County. KCNC reports that for reasons that are unclear, the dispatcher sent responders miles away to Arapahoe County, not the Lowmans’ home 1.5 miles away.
“It’s not acceptable. There’s no excuse for this, none,” said Lowman’s son, Robert Lowman. His mom was visiting to celebrate her 65th birthday with her son and grandchildren.
According to 911 tapes, Robert Lowman at one point appears to become frustrated as he talks to a dispatcher.
“My mother’s dying, goodbye, goodbye,” he said, before hanging up.
The tapes also capture the confusion of the emergency responders.
“We’re trying to get close. We don’t know exactly where we’re going,” a firefighter told the dispatch center.
Aurora says addresses in the dispatch system are being double-checked for accuracy, and dispatchers are getting more training.
“Clearly, this isn’t up to our standards and an error was made in selecting the address,” Aurora spokeswoman Kim Stuart said. “That did slow our response time.”
Stuart said she could not speculate as to whether a faster response time would’ve saved Sandra Lowman’s life.
“It’s truly sad. Our hearts go out to the family,” she said.
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Information from: KCNC-TV,
