HOUSTON – When a suspected drunk driver’s car went flying through the air before crashing into a restaurant building Tuesday night in West Houston, witnesses near the scene began calling 911.
Tamara Hoey was one of the first, but an automated system, not a person, answered.
“And then it says, all operators are busy at this time. Please hold. To me, that’s crazy,” Hoey said.
As the scene grew more chaotic, Hoey still wondered if the driver survived.
“I was already in a panic about somebody’s life, and you know, then to be told, ‘Can you please wait?’,” she said.
Medics rushed the driver to the hospital. On Tuesday he was facing a DWI charge.
SEE ALSO: Suspect accused of crashing into west Houston restaurant facing DWI charge, HPD says
According to the National Emergency Number Association, the standard is that 95% of 911 calls get answered within 20 seconds.
Hoey’s call record shows her call to 911 lasted nearly three minutes, but she estimated she waited up to two minutes before talking to a real person.
Houston 911 calls are answered at the Houston Emergency Center, which is still dealing with a staffing shortage. KPRC 2 Investigates reported on the problems nearly a year ago.
SEE ALSO: City blames staffing shortage after some Houston area 911 callers were sent to recording
“This is a nationwide industry issue and HEC is not immune. HEC is making all efforts to ramp up recruitment and selection process to attract and train additional personnel,” a spokesperson for Houston Emergency Center wrote in a statement to KPRC 2.
Hoey only hopes the city gets more people hired to answer the phone.
“I know there’s a lot of employment things going on, but I think with 911, it’s not an excuse,” she said.
The City couldn’t provide an exact number of how many call takers are lacking right now, but current staffers are working overtime to fill in the gaps.