LITTLE ROCK — The Little Rock Police Department said Tuesday a 911 operator has been placed on administrative leave with pay pending an investigation.
Police said the operator is under investigation for the handling of a Monday morning 911 call where two people were trapped inside a vehicle in a pond on Cooper Orbit Road after the driver hit an ice patch and ran off the road.
According to police, the Little Rock Communications Center received a call about 7:57 a.m. about the incident. The operator notified Metropolitan Emergency Medical Services (MEMS) at about 8:01 a.m.
Authorities said MEMS called the operator around 8:17 a.m. to confirm the Little Rock Fire Department was en route, but the department was not dispatched until approximately 8:23 a.m. Police said it is unclear why there was a delay in notifying the fire department.
Little Rock police were dispatched about 8:27 a.m.
According to an article in Tuesday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, officials said the LRFD water search-and-rescue team could only see the top of the vehicle sticking out of the pond when it arrived on the scene.
The article states Jingle Yi, 39, and her 5-year-old son, Le Yang, were pulled from the vehicle, but Yi died hours later. As of Monday night, the child was in intensive care at Arkansas Children's Hospital.
Sgt. Cassandra Davis said Tuesday afternoon that there was no new information on the investigation.
Davis said the operator was hired in March and became a full-time employee in September.
Read tomorrow's Arkansas Democrat-Gazettte for full details.