Woman Calls 911 and Orders a Large Pizza – The Dispatcher Realizes Why and Sends Every Car

Car 12, the closest responding unit, was racing toward 41 Birch Court. Not Birch Lane. Birch Court. Wexley County had two Birch streets located on opposite sides of the river. The mobile phone's location circle was broad enough to cover both neighborhoods, and the automated dispatch system had filled in the wrong suffix. Car 12 was four minutes away from the wrong address.

"She said Lane," Teresa whispered, panic flaring. "I heard Lane." "I know. I need to be sure before I turn him around." Teresa forced a cheerful smile into her microphone, sounding as if she were bored on her shift. "Ma'am, our drivers always mix up the two Birch streets. Are you the house near the water tower?" "Yes, exactly, right near the water tower."

Luis grabbed the radio console. "Car 12, turn around immediately. Birch Lane, not Court. Lane, by the water tower." Officer Marcus Reed's calm voice came back instantly over the channel. "Copy that, Dispatch. Turning around now." They had lost almost three precious minutes. In Teresa's headset, there was a loud rustle of fabric, a sharp thump, and somebody breathing heavily right up against the phone's microphone. Then a man's voice barked in her ear: "Who is this?"