Police: Delay Didn’t Contribute to Crash Death

St. Louis (Mo.) police officials are adamant that a dispatcher’s mistake in dispatching officers did not contribute to the death of a man pushing his car across a bridge over the Mississippi River. The unnamed dispatcher, whom police officials say is relatively new, sent units to I-70 and Riverview Dr. in the southern part of the city, instead of I-270 and Riverview, about 6-1/2 miles north. Witnesses saw the man pushing his car across the bridge, which has no turn-outs. The first 911 call was made at 4:47 a.m., and police headed to the incorrect location. More phone calls were received at 4:52 p.m., pointing police to the correct location. Police say a tractor-trailer struck the man and rear-ended his vehicle at about 5 a.m. Police initially said the first 911 caller had given a wrong location, but later admitted it was the dispatcher who erred. Read more about the incident here. Also read the opinion of the victim’s family, which is that the delay did contribute to his death. They also said that police told them the victim himself dialed 911 to report he was stalled on the bridge.