By Bobby Kerlik
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Copyright 2007 The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
STOWE, Pa. — The parents of an infant who died during a 911 glitch that resulted in missed calls for help filed a lawsuit Wednesday against the company that serviced the equipment.
John Kasecky and Amanda Schaffer filed a lawsuit in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court against Kansas-based Embarq Corp., alleging the business was negligent when installing and maintaining the county 911 system.
Kasecky, of Stowe, found his 5-month-old son, Alijah Schaffer, not breathing and lying facedown in his crib Oct. 25, according to the lawsuit.
Kasecky, who didn’t have a car or cell phone, began performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation as he frantically dialed 911 for help and got a busy signal for 19 minutes.
He finally called Stowe police, who dispatched an ambulance to his Overlook Place home. Alijah was taken to Ohio Valley General Hospital in Kennedy, where he died.
During the 19-minute period, Alijah lost color, turned a blue-gray and his lips became blue, according to the lawsuit.
The glitch crippled the system for nearly seven hours and blocked 217 calls that had come in during that time, according to the lawsuit.