The agency that handles 911 calls in Marion County denied Monday that people calling about a fatal crash on Saturday were put on hold for long and said emergency personnel reached the scene faster than reported.
The Marion County Emergency Communications Agency said it first received a cell phone call about the crash on Lafayette Road at 5:08 p.m. Saturday. By 5:12 p.m., police, firefighters and an ambulance arrived, the agency said.
A vehicle had hit a telephone pole, and the driver later died. A witness said he and two others were put on hold for about 10 minutes when they called 911.
Deputy Chief Joe McAtee, of the communications agency, said no hold of such a duration took place.
"We have run the tapes for 10 minutes from the time the first call came in, and we can't find anyone who was put on hold for more than two minutes and five seconds. That includes the people who hung up the phone," McAtee said.
Over the weekend, 6News had reported that police said they reached the crash scene nine minutes after the agency received a call.
The agency said it took six other calls about the wreck between 5:08 and 5:12 p.m.
In those four minutes, eight other people called and hung up, the agency said.
"If, say, your spouse is having a heart attack or something, a minute is an eternity. Sometimes people think it took longer than it did," McAtee said.
Previous Stories:
- March 4, 2007: Men Helping Victim Say 911 Put Them On Hold
