4.38am: 911 call received. When asked why she was leaving her position at the police department, Reneau said she wanted to return to school. When the team did arrive to save her, the flooding delayed their attempts to get to her:When first responders were finally able to reach Mrs. Stevens and extract her from the vehicle, she had tragically succumbed to drowning., Wait. did this guy Danny Baker just say that #Donnareneau has had to endure things as a dispatcher that no one should have to? Reneau had submitted her resignation earlier in August and was on her last shift when Stevenss call came in. 911 dispatcher, Donna Reneau, who was working her last shift after putting in her two weeks notice, is under fire for her "uncaring" response. A paper delivery woman who drove into a flooded area drowned after being reprimanded by a now-former 911 dispatcher. Sopranos star John Ventimiglia's daughter Odele dead at 25: Family is 'heartbroken' by her passing just Boris Johnson lands 500k advance for his eagerly-awaited memoir covering his time as Prime Minister. In the 911 recording . Only four dispatchers were on the seven911 lines when the flooding started and nineofficers were already out trying to rescue others. All Rights Reserved. I'm gonna drown,'" Diane recalled. Ralph R. Ortega For Dailymail.com
'It's a tragic thing, I understand that. Stevens, 47, drowned as she begged Reneau to send someone to rescue her. So calm down.'. In the 911 recording . She also said another reason for her leaving was she felt like there was no way to "move up" within the department. Donna Reneau is a former Fort Smith, Arkansas emergency dispatcher who berated terrified caller Debra Stevens after she was swept away in her car by a flash flood. . 11 Strict Rules That Elon Musk Makes His Girlfriends & Wives Follow, Justin Bieber Suspected As The Father Of Kourtney Kardashian's Son Reign (Instead Of Scott Disick), Why Kate Moss Was 'Scared' & 'Couldn't Get Out Of Bed For Weeks' After Working With Mark Wahlberg. (Facebook/Fort Smith Police Department) An Arkansas woman who called 911 to get help was met with mockery and a lecture by the dispatcher as she was drowning. The face of #EVIL #donnareneau. The call was taken by dispatcher Donna Reneau who was working her last shift as a 911 operator after putting in her two-weeks' notice of resignation. She was later found dead. 5NEWS has obtained an exit interview. She worked in Fort Smith, Arkansas as a 911 dispatcher. Pictured above is dashcam video of authorities searching for her car, Reneau could be heard telling the first responders searching for her: 'I'm on the phone with her now and she is legit freaking out. Police Chief Danny Baker at the time said he could completely understand the 'disgust and concern' people have had over the interaction between the dispatcher and Stevens. 'You're not the only one who has been stuck in the water. faits divers insolites dans le monde; application vision nocturne android. Will you do the same? In December 2019, the police released their internal review on Reneau. 4.54am: Police/fire report difficulty locating vehicle. Frantic Families Trapped in Their Homes and Running Out of Food After Massive Snowstorm Cripples California, 3 Female Bodybuilders Say League Owner's Son Sexually Exploited Them While Their Careers Hung in the Balance, Innocent Michigan Man, 71, Walks Free After 2 Decades in Prison Thanks to True Crime Coverage of His Case, Lindsay Clancy: Timeline of Events in the Case of Massachusetts Mom Accused of Killing Her 3 Children, Abby Choi Case: Police Scour Landfill Searching for Dismembered Model's Missing Torso, Hands and Arms, 2 Missing Women Found Alive by Maine Game Wardens After Being Stuck in Their Car in Freezing Temperatures. Birds of a feather really DO flock together! Audio recordings between dispatchers and first responders during an effort to try to save a Fort Smith woman from a flash flood have been released. Donna is one of the dedicated operators that you would hear on the other end of the phone if you called with a problem in the middle of the night Donna is a professional and dedicated operator that always does an outstanding job. We call for the investigation and criminal prosecution of Donna Reneau for her crimes of negligence and ignoring this woman's pleas for help as she drowned in her vehicle in the flood waters. Reputation management expert reveals why it doesn't just happen to How did Russia lose HALF of its 45,000 elite paratroopers in just seven months? Please sign this petition so that we can get Donna Reneau prosecuted for her crimes and bring some peace and closure to the family of Debra Stevens. Did they find her? In the video above: Severe floodwaters hit Arkansas Watch the latest news and stream for free on 7plus >> But seven months later, she would become known for telling drowning woman Debra Stevens to "shut up". We are no longer accepting comments on this article. , updated We call on Fort Smith Police Department and Fort Smith city officials to investigate and prosecute Donna Reneau for these crimes that led to this woman's death in failing to do her job. For five years, she worked as a 911 dispatcher and she was so good at her job that she was actually certified to help other people, too. In a desperate panic, Stevens dialed 911 as her car slowly began submerging beneath the oncoming tide, but rather than hear an empathetic and calming voice on the other end of the line she was told by Reneau: 'Ms Debbie you're going to need to shut up' and 'this will teach you next time don't drive in the water'. On August 24, Stevens called 911 at 4:38 a.m. and told Reneau shed been delivering newspapers for the Southwest Times Record when a flash flood washed her SUV off the road. 'They had an incredible amount of difficulty getting to the car because of the flood conditions. "We all heard that. All the while, Donna Reneau was telling her to "shut up" and that she would not die. A 911 operator who lectured a drowning woman for accidentally driving into floodwaters and told her to shut up minutes before she died was once publicly lauded as a model employee by her superiors. She couldve been deemed to have broken human resource standards if shed still been an employee but nothing to merit a measure of discipline as strict as termination, Pitts wrote. Also exacerbating response and rescue efforts were the facts that Mrs. Stevens was having trouble describing her exact location and flooding limited the ability of first responders to reach her, said a press releaseissued by the police. See for yourself by trying this new quiz devised by cardiologists One in five teenage boys or their friends have been offered work supplying drugs by county lines gangs who Head over heels for Kate! Is there maybe things we need to look at in our response? I'm sorry . Part of the Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday & Metro Media Group. Example video title will go here for this video. Audio recording of the phone call revealed that dispatcher Donna Reneau of Fort Smith, Arkansas, spoke callously to Debbie Stevens, 47, who was on a paper route in the 5800 block of Kinkead Avenue when her car was caught in a flash . "Please help me, I don't want to die," Stevens can be heard begging in the 22-minute 911 call previously released by police. She's a former 911 dispatcher who used to save lives with her calls daily. Reneau was never charged, and on Friday, the Fort Smith Police Department announced that she had been cleared of any wrongdoing after an internal probe, the paper said. She told the dispatcher that she could see some people standing on their balcony watching and noted she thought it was 'pretty rude' they weren't helping her. She's a former 911 dispatcher who used to save lives with her calls daily. 5.16am: Rescue boat arrives and is launched. Congratulations to Donna Reneau for being selected as the Fire Dispatcher of the Year! Police said the 911 operator had dispatched Fort Smith Fire and Police units to help Stevens but it made it difficult because she couldn't describe her exact location. When Stevens said she needed to vomit, Reneau hit back saying: 'Well you're in water, you can throw up it's not going to matter'. Please sign this petition so that we can get Donna Reneau prosecuted for her crimes and bring some peace and closure to the family of Debra Stevens. Absolutely,' he said. It is so unfortunate that her entire career willbe defined by this single incident. Did they find her? But what we want to do is not lose sight of the fact first responders were dispatched, the call was bumped in priority, and as much effort was done by our first responders to get to her," Fort Smith City Administrator Carl Geffken said. 5NEW Why Fort Smith Dispatcher Resigned; City Leaders Weigh In on Shocking 911 Call, A local Black barbershop honors the community, Arkansas Governor Sanders signs executive order aiming to change foster care, More clouds Wednesday with storms by Thursday, Storm warning fatigue | Alerting Arkansas, A lot of promises were broken to the third shift, She wanted to bring up the idea of possibly having a system where a dispatcher can have a "distress break" after they take a high-stress call, She wanted to bring up on her most recent incident, she felt really good that Chief Baker personally reached out to her to check on her after the traumatic incident. . Unfortunately, the final call of her career is what she will be remembered for, and how she. Absolutely', he said. - A former 911 dispatcher in Arkansas was cleared of any wrongdoing in how she handled a call in which she scolded a panicking woman for driving into floodwaters before she drowned. The manner that she spoke during this conversation would have probably been addressed, but it would have been more a rudeness quality-type service complaint. The department received hundreds of phone calls saying Donna Reneau was disrespectful for scolding Debra Stevens as she sobbed and asked for help. RELATED:New Details About A Baby Who Was Accidentally Locked Inside A Hot Car And Why A 911 Operator Refused To Send Police To Help. Stevens, 47, drowned as she. "How Mrs. Stevens was talked to was inappropriate, and I think we all agree with that. JAMIE MITCHELL/AP. A former Arkansas 911 dispatcher was cleared of wrongdoing following accusations that she mishandled a call with a drowning woman and told her to "shut up" just moments before she died. . Reneau could be heard telling Stevens to stop crying and calm down. Donna Marie Reneau, who previously was dispatcher of the year at the Fort Smith Police Department, resigned Aug. 23, the same day she scolded drowning victim Debra Stevens during a 22-minutes 9-1-1 call, which she was thankful that Baker personally reached out to her to check on her after the traumatic incident. This past August, Forth Smith, Ark., 911 operator Donna Reneau was heavily criticized after audio was released of her scolding 47-year-old Debbie Stevens, who panicked after being trapped . Debbie Stevens (left) drowned on Aug. 24 while being scolded by 911 dispatcher Donna Reneau. 4.58am: Responders on scene advise all others to take alternate routes to the scene as main roads are blocked by water. 5.02am: Responders report they have located the vehicle. Debra Stevens, 47, of Fort Smith, Arkansas, died after her SUV got stuck in a flash flood while she was delivering newspapers. Baker said 911 had been inundated with calls at the time from people who were also stranded in flood waters. FORT SMITH, Ark. Saudi Arabia sentences five to death for Jamal Khashoggi k King Charles to evict Harry and Meghan from Frogmore Cottage and give to Andrew, 'Elvis' star Austin Butler was rushed to ER after 'body just started shutting down', Woke Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot loses re-election bid as city battles crime epidemic, Ed Sheerans wife, Cherry Seaborn, was diagnosed with tumor during pregnancy, Meghan Markle, Prince Harry have first night out since bombshell Spare released, Jordyn Woods supports Selena Gomez amid singers feud with Kylie Jenner, Hailey Bieber, Heroic bus driver saves student from passing car, Savannah Guthrie Rushed Out Of Today After Testing Positive For COVID-19 During Live Broadcast, Meghan Markle, Prince Harry have first night out since bombshell 'Spare' released. 'Am I not on the phone with you trying to get you some help?' 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