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These 17 Calls to 911 Operators Will Chill You to the Bone

Photo Credit: Pexels

11. “He was literally freezing to death.”

Not 911, but I worked for AAA for most of my 20s. On the night shift one evening there was a guy who called in and was very upset because Chicago had long wait times for towing service. I took the call as a supervisor and assured him we would keep him informed of any changes, but advised to seek shelter as there was an ice storm in progress. He refused to leave his car or accept a ride to safety. I talked to him 3 more times in the next 2 hours.

As the storm got worse managing volumes became more difficult and priority went to accident calls and people blocking traffic. Around 3am I got a call from an agent who had someone on the phone who was just wimpering and mumbling. I asked her for the phone number off caller ID and it was my friend from earlier. He was so committed to waiting for a tow and not leaving his car that he was literally freezing to death. My agent was on the verge of tears and asking what to do. I took over the call and had the other Sup contact Chicago PD.

I stayed on the line until police arrived and pulled him out of the car. He lived and was fine but holy shit I have never felt more helpless than listening to someone screaming at me and speaking 100 miles a minute to being so cold they can barely form 3 words that make sense.

10. “She said she could hear the baby crying…”

Chilling in a good way!

My mom is a dispatcher and got a call from a salon. A woman had gone into labor and was actively giving birth at the salon.

All of the women there helped and she talked them through it. She said she could hear the baby crying when it came out and the paramedics arrived.

My mom even got her own little snippet on the local news!

9. “It was no use.”

I worked on a homicide where there was a gang shooting and guy who wasn’t in either gang, but in the wrong place at the wrong time got shot by one of the gang members out in the street. The 911 call was from his girlfriend when she heard the gunshot and came out of their house to look for him.

You could hear her screaming at him and crying as the 911 operator told her how to do CPR but there were so many bullet holes that each time she did chest compressions she was crying and saying blood was gushing out of the holes.

The sound of her voice was heartbreaking. She was being told to do CPR and she did but she kept repeating he was dead and it was no use.

8. “I stayed on the phone with her for 11 minutes…”

One of my first “real” 911 calls was a lady in her burning trailer house. She was elderly and wasn’t very mobile. She was calling from a landline. I stayed on the phone with her for 11 minutes until the line went dead as she frantically struggled to get out of her house.

She never made it out and was found dead only +/- 2 feet from the door.

Every time I get a call of a house fire this flashed through my head.

7. “We then hear a siren…”

I’m an English-Spanish interpreter. I once got a call from a 911 operator saying “Interpreter, I need an address, now!”. Which is pretty normal, we usually talk to the operator first and then we get conferenced in. Then all I can hear is yelling, here’s how it happened (All in Spanish):

  • Lady: HE’S BLUE, HE’S NOT BREATHING. HELP ME, HELP ME, HE’S BLUE, HE’S BLUE!!!!! GOD WHY!?!?!?
  • Me: Mam I need your address so we can send help (While she’s still yelling)
  • Lady: YOU NEED TO SEND SOMEBODY NOW! HE’S BLUE, MY SON, HE’S NOT BREATHING, OH MY GOD HE’S GONE, HE’S GONE NOW!!!
  • Me: Mam I need you to give me an address so we can find you
  • Lady: I DON’T KNOW, WE’RE BY THE TRAIN TRACKS. OH MY GOD HE’S GONE, HE’S GONE NOW!!!

… This goes on for about 3 more minutes and I had to talk as loud as I could so she could hear me over her yelling. Eventually she passes the phone to somebody else, I get the address, give it to the 911 operator and she comes to the line again.

She’s yelling a combination of the previous conversations for about 9 minutes while the operator and me try (Unsuccessfully) to get an explanation of what happened. We then hear a siren and it’s clear the ambulance found them. The operator thanks me and hangs up.

I never knew what happened with the boy. As soon as that call ended I had to go to the next one. Probably just somebody trying to pay their bill or taking an insurance statement. But I’ve always wondered what ever happened after we were gone… I’m pretty sure the boy died though =(