Sad, not wacky.Boy died after 911 operator tapped wrong button

Human error was to blame for a mis-disdirected ambulance, possibly causing the death of the person who was supposed to be inside it.

Mariela Lazaro called 911 and said her son’s nose was bleeding, but she was too upset to give her exact cross streets. While searching for the address in the database, a 911 worker tapped the wrong button and located Avenue C in Brooklyn, though Lazaro was actually calling from Avenue C in Manhattan. An emergency crew rushed to the Brooklyn address, but quickly realized something was wrong.

Less than 20 minutes after the original call another crew found the correct home, but by then it was too late. The boy was dead.

It's unclear if Ian Uro could have been saved. He had been sick and he’d been hospitalized for a fever and other symptoms of the flu.

The newly installed call system has been blamed for several fatal mis-dispatches. However, in this case officials blame the operator, not the technology. (info from http://www.gothamist.com/)

No cop helped after six 911 calls about drunk driver

Tim Johnston said he made at least six 911 calls on February 5th while behind a suspected drunken driver in  Oklahoma.

He said he ended up following the driver, going out of his way, hoping an officer would show up to pull over the driver. Finally, Johnston said he gave up,  figuring he might follow the driver all the way to Arkansas without getting any response.

Johnston said once he saw the pick-up start weaving all over the highway, he had no inclination to try and pass it. However, he did decide to follow it. Since Johnston didn’t have the numbers of local police available, he said he phoned 911 when he became concerned that the driver was intoxicated and might hit another vehicle.

(info from the McAlester News-Capital.

Car burglar tasered himself, handcuffed himself, and called 911 for help

Deputees in Lake County, Florida  say Shane Williams-Allen, a serial car burglar, broke into an unmarked police car, shocked himself with a Taser and then put himself in handcuffs and could not get out.

He had to call 911 to set him free. Williams-Allen may be linked to as many as nine car burglaries. (info from http://www.cfnews13.com/) (photo from the New York Times)

Man called 911 twice for ride to Miami

A man in Boynton Beach, Florida called 911 twice claiming that someone was trying to kill him -- so he could get a ride to Miami.

Jose Rodrigues was arrested Monday morning on a charge of giving false information to a law enforcement officer. Rodrigues called 911 claiming that someone was trying to kill him. When police arrived in the area of Interstate 95 where the call was placed, they didn't find anyone and left.

About 15 minutes later, Rodrigues called 911 again. When officers arrived this time, they found a man leaning against a concrete divider wall on I-95. The man, whom police identified as Rodrigues, said he needed to go home. Rodrigues said two men put a hood over his head, tied a rope around his hands, forced him into a car and drove him to that location.

Officers noticed a disabled vehicle in a northbound I-95 lane and spoke with the driver, who said his car broke down and that he had a passenger who "got tired of waiting for a ride and walked away from the car."

Rodrigues later admitted that he just wanted a ride to Miami, police said. (info from WPBF.com)