Update: CAD, 911 Info from Drowning Death

On Sept. 23rd a woman driving home from work at 5 a.m. drowned when her car was swept off a residential road in Gwinnett County (Geo.). Seydi Burciaga died as floodwaters from torrential rains filled her car, which had drifted off the roadway, past the backyards of homes and into a field of trees near a school. She was on the telephone with a county 911 dispatcher for 16 minutes before the telephone went dead. Arriving police and fire units couldn’t spot her car and rescue her. About two hours later the water receded enough, and it became light enough for rescuers to see the car and find her body. Now the logging tape of the 911 call is available, along with the CAD print-outs from the incident. Both seem to show the calltaker properly handled the call by obtaining critical information and advising Burciaga, “Do whatever you can to get out of your vehicle.” At about five minutes into the 911 call, the calltaker noted in the CAD comments, “****FEMALE ALMOST DROWNING***.” The conversation turned desperate as the dispatcher told her, “Don’t tell me you can’t,” and telling Burciaga to look outside for anything recognizable that might help firefighters locate her. At this point the CAD notations read: “WATER IS UP TO HER NECK NOW,” and then “LOST PHONE.” The calltaker dialed back Burciaga’s telephone, but it went to voice mail. Download (pdf) the CAD print-outs here, read more about the incident here, and listen to the 911 call. here