Tustin: 911

I spent the middle part of yesterday running errands and buying Christmas gifts around the Tustin/Irvine Marketplace. I wrapped up my day as the afternoon sun began to dip lower in the Orange County skyline. As I was walking to my car, I heard a relatively soft BANG followed quickly by a woman's scream. I looked over to where the sound came from and saw a car stopped in the middle of the street.

The only thing I could see from my position was a smashed windshield. It was obvious there was some sort of accident but I could only see one car. I began to walk towards the car and saw what had created the cobweb on the windshield. It was a dude on a bike, who at the moment, was no longer on his bike, but rather laid out on the asphalt behind the car.

A woman had already made her way over to the scene and was helping the guy. He was sitting up by the time I got over there and was fully conscious. His hand and knee were bleeding but other than that there were no other visible signs of injury. He said he felt ok, but according to the lady who actually saw him get hit, he flew about 10 feet in the air. I asked them if they wanted me to call an ambulance and the lady said yes, so I did.

Three digits and one ring later I was talking to a 911 dispatcher. My request for an ambulance was quickly redirected to a different dispatch, again with only one ring to keep me waiting. After giving the person on the other end of the line my location and number, I hung up and began collecting the items that have been scattered across the street: a broken bike, kickstand, pamphlets, a clipboard, and a few pens. Before I could even collect the last pamphlet, I could hear the sounds of a police siren coming up the street.

When the cop arrived, no more than two minutes had passed. He got out of his car and started asking questions. I told him I had called for the ambulance and asked if he needed me to stick around. He asked if I had seen what happened and I said no, so he said I could leave. As I was walking to my car, another police car drove by. As I was leaving the parking lot the ambulance was driving up. Within a matter of 3-4 minutes two law enforcement units and an ambulance was at the scene. The speed of service was impressive.

My only other time I can recall dialing 9-1-1 was quite a few years ago when I lived with my parents. There was a guy trying to break into a car across the street from our house so I dialed and was greeted with a busy tone. On a second attempt I sat through numerous rings before someone finally picked up. By the time an officer showed up at our house, the suspect was long gone. My most recent experience with dialing for help has more than restored my faith.

Tags: 911, Tustin