Arkansas Woman Drowns in Flood After 911 Dispatcher Scolds Her

Transcripts of a conversation between an Arkansas woman who drowned in her vehicle last week while on the phone and a "callous and uncaring" 911 dispatcher were released by police this week after the department promised to open an investigation into the department's policies.

Debra Stevens, 47, was delivering newspapers early in the morning on Aug. 23, when her SUV became swept away by swift waters due to flash flooding. Stevens called 911 for help, hoping she could be rescued from the rising waters. Instead, the call was answered by a dispatcher who scolded her for driving into the water and at one point, telling the woman to "shut up," according to audio of the call released by the Fort Smith Police Department this week.

According to a statement from the Fort Smith Police Department, the dispatcher, identified as Donna Reneau by local media, was working her last shift as a 911 dispatcher and dispatch trainer when she answered the call early Saturday morning.

Stevens pleaded with Reneau on the phone, who can be heard dismissing the drowning woman's concerns in an audio recording of the 911 call.

Stevens: "Please help me. I don't wanna die."

Reneau: "You're not going to die - hold on for a minute."

Stevens: "Well I need um, I'm scared. I'm sorry."

Reneau: "I understand that you're scared but there's nothing I can do sitting in a chair so you're going to have to hold on and I'm going to send you somebody, OK?"

Officers and firefighters had been "inundated with 911 calls from other citizens also stranded in flood waters."

"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," the statement from the department said. "When first responders were finally able to pinpoint the location of Mrs. Stevens’ vehicle, the swift, rising water made immediate rescue impossible."

While this was happening, Reneau continues to tell Stevens she's not going to die.

Reneau: "You're not going to die. I don't know why you're freaking out. It's OK. I know the water level is high."

Stevens: "I'm scared. I'm sorry."

Reneau: "I understand that but you freaking out - doing nothing but losing your oxygen up in there so calm down."

Stevens: "When are they going to be here?"

Reneau: "As soon as they get there."

Eleven minutes into the phone call, Reneau scolds Stevens for driving into the floodwaters.

Stevens: "I'm scared. I've never had anything like this happen to me before."

Reneau: "This will teach you next time don't drive in the water."

Stevens: "Couldn't see it ma'am. I'm sorry or I wouldn't have."

Reneau: "I don't see how you didn't see it. You had to go right over it, so."

Later in the call Stevens reported the water was up to her neck, with Reneau telling her to "shut up." When Stevens starts screaming that she "can't breathe," Reneau told her, "Miss Debbie, you are breathing just fine, because you are screaming at me. So calm down."

Reneau's conduct would have warranted a reprimand, but authorities did not find anything criminal with the 911 dispatcher's conduct, interim Police Chief Danny Baker told the Southwest Times Record.

About forty-five minutes after Stevens initially placed her call to 911, a rescue boat arrived, allowing emergency responders to reach her in the vehicle, but by then, tragically, Stevens had succumbed to drowning.

"I am heartbroken for this tragic loss of life and my prayers are with Debra’s family and friends," Baker said in his statement "All of our first responders who attempted to save Mrs. Stevens are distraught over the outcome. For every one of us, saving lives is at the very core of who we are and why we do what we do. When we are unsuccessful, it hurts."