Mother Blames Death Of Infant Son On T-Mobile Tying Up 911 Line
A mother from Dallas, Texas is mourning the loss of her son after a series of glitches tied up the city’s emergency lines. Bridget Alex says her son Brandon died after her babysitter tried several times to get ahold of a 911 operator after the child fell and didn’t wake up.
Fox 29 San Antonio reports Alex was attending the funeral of her nephew Saturday (March 11) when her babysitter called about Brandon. “I said, ‘Why you couldn’t call 911?’ she said, ‘I am calling 911. They are not answering their phones.'” Alex says she raced home to take Brandon to the hospital herself, but it was too late. Brandon was taken to two hospitals but passed. The babysitter’s call log revealed she called 911 three times–the last time she was on hold for 31 minutes.
The issues had to do with ghost calls from T-Mobile numbers constantly calling the line. Since the operators had to call every number back, many of those who actually needed the emergency line were put on hold or disconnected. Sadly, Brandon wasn’t the only victim last weekend. Yahoo reports a man died after his husband David Taffet tried to get in contact with 911. He was also disconnected while calling and didn’t get to speak to an operator until 20 minuted after the call.
“I just want y’all to tell me why didn’t you respond to my son? That’s all I want to know, is why,” Alex said. “At the end of the day, I’m still going to be here hurt,” Alex said. “Because he will not be here. I’m not going to see him or smell him or touch me or kiss him ever again.”
Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings also blamed T-Mobile for the deaths. “It is outrageous that T-Mobile still has not resolved the ghost call issue that is putting Dallasites in danger by clogging our 911 system,” Rawlings said. “I’m in full agreement with our city manager that our citizens deserve better. This issue not only puts paying T-Mobile customers at risk, but it jeopardizes the safety of people throughout our city.
T-Mobile CEO John Legere tells reporters the company’s “top engineers” are heading to the city to fix the problem.
UPDATE (March 17, 12:18 p.m.):
A GoFundMe was established by Brandon’s family to assist in funds for a proper burial. You can donate here.
This post Mother Blames Death Of Infant Son On T-Mobile Tying Up 911 Line first appeared on Vibe.
