Associated Press
DALLAS — Dallas public safety officials are pressing T-Mobile for solutions following the death of a 6-month-old boy whose baby sitter couldn’t reach 911 operators.
The city said in a statement that the 911 call center was jammed with calls Saturday evening because of an ongoing issue with T-Mobile. Dallas television station WFAA reported that when T-Mobile customers call 911, ghost calls are created that jam the system and operators end up putting callers on hold as they try to catch up.
The boy’s mother, Bridget Alex, told the station that she was at her sister’s home when her baby sitter frantically called her, saying her 6-month-old son had fallen from a day bed and was unconscious. The baby sitter said she called 911 three times but kept being placed on hold.
Alex said she sped home and took her son to a hospital.
“I jumped in the car with him, and I just kept kissing his lips. He was still warm. I just kept saying, ‘Brandon, please wake up. Please wake up,’” she told the station.
The baby was transferred to another hospital, where he died without regaining consciousness.
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The city issued a statement Tuesday saying Dallas police found no immediate evidence connecting the death to the ghost-call issue, but confirmed the caller was using T-Mobile service when trying to call 911 on Saturday evening.
City Manager T.C. Broadnax said he spoke with T-Mobile CEO John Legere, and that Legere pledged to send his top engineers to Dallas on Wednesday to address the problem. T-Mobile spokeswoman Stacey DiNuzzo said she had no additional statement from the company.
“This is an unacceptable situation and the citizens of Dallas deserve better,” Broadnax said, adding that he was hopeful the issue could be fixed.