Problems at a 911 center may have contributed to the death of a 6-month-old baby, reports CBS Dallas-Fort Worth.
The Dallas Police Department is investigating after the boy’s caretaker dialed 911 on Saturday evening, but was unable to get through. The city confirmed that so-called “ghost calls” from T-Mobile phones were overwhelming emergency lines at the time.
CBS Dallas-Fort Worth spoke with Mayor Mike Rawlings about his frustration and the danger the situation poses for residents. The Mayor said anyone could run into trouble if there’s a surge in calls, but the odds are worse for some cell phone customers.
“If you’ve got a T-Mobile phone service be very, very careful because you may not be able to get into 911,” he said.
Officials with the City of Dallas say T-Mobile crews arrived Wednesday and are busy working to fix a major system issue.
In a T-Mobile statement provided to CBS News, the company says:
“We remain completely committed to solving this issue and have been working daily with the Dallas [911 center] to find a permanent solution to this problem. We are increasing our efforts and bringing in additional engineers to Dallas to further collaborate with the [911 center] team. These top engineers will not rest until the problem is resolved.”
Bridget Alex, the baby’s mother, said that the urgency in finding a solution comes too late for her son.
“He was only 6 months,” she said. “It wasn’t his time.”
Alex was at her nephew’s funeral when young Brandon’s babysitter called to say that he had fallen and would not wake up. “I said, ‘Why couldn’t you call 911?’ She said, ‘I am calling 911. They are not answering their phones.’”
Click here to read more.
SOURCE: CBS News
BCNN1 WP 