“Stop whining,” a Maryland 911 operator told a traumatized teen as she was trying to help her family after a deadly hit and run.
The U.S. Park Police are still investigating the Sunday night incident, which left a father dead and his fiancee seriously injured. The family stopped on the side of the road near the Baltimore Washington Parkway to fix a flat tire when a car struck them. The driver fled the scene.
The distraught teenage daughter of 38-year-old Rick Warrick called 911 to ask for help, only to be met with a dispatcher who sounded agitated with the girl. It’s behavior that Anne Arundel County Fire Capt. Rick Davies said “didn’t meet our expectations of how it should have been handled.”
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Davies said it was obvious that the operator could have acted “more professionally, and in a more compassionate manner.”
Davies said the dispatcher had been working in that position for the last six years. The operator may face further disciplinary action following an investigation.
The driver of the hit and run has not yet been caught. Anyone with information is urged to contact the U.S. Park Police at 202-610-8737.
