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The tape of the desperate 9-1-1 call released.
Story by Will Jones
It's the story from right here in our area, that has people across the country talking. The woman trapped underneath a camel.
That woman made an emergency call to 9-1-1, while the camel was sitting on her. That woman is probably glad she had her cell phone, and the presence of mind to call 9-1-1. It started Wednesday morning, when the woman found herself under a 1500-pound camel called Poon. There was no one there to hear her cries for help, so she called 9-1-1 on her cell phone.
911 Dispatcher: 911, what's your emergency? Caller: Uh, yes. I'm at the Mayle Farm in Shinnston and I'm under a camel. 911 Dispatcher: Okay. Can you breathe? Caller: Barely. As long as he doesn't move anymore, I can. 911 Dispatcher: Okay. How did you get under it? Caller: I was painting a fence and he knocked me down. 911 Dispatcher: Okay. Caller: He won't let me up. He won't let me out.
9-1-1 Dispatcher Sandy McNeil took the call. She says even though it was strange, she knew it wasn't a prank.
"You can tell from the despair in your voice that it was legitimate," McNeil says.
The emergency crew got there in minutes, but those minutes can seem like an eternity when you're under a camel.
Caller: He's right here. He just rolled off of me. 911 Dispatcher: Huh? Caller: He just rolled off of me. Oh, oh God. No Poon. 911 Dispatcher: What's he doing now? Caller: (inaudible) 911 Dispatcher: (name), what's he doing now? Caller: He's biting me. 911 Dispatcher: They're almost there. Okay. Caller: Oh God. Please tell them to hurry.
The woman called Dispatcher McNeil to thank her on Friday. As for the woman, she's trying to remain anonymous, but if the national News media have its way, that won't be for long. "Inside Edition" and "Good Morning America" are some of the new shows that are trying to score a interview with her.
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