By FireRescue1 Staff
INDIANAPOLIS — First responders are reminding the public to call 911 first in the event of an emergency.
FOX59 reported that family members drew attention to the issue after bystanders videotaped an incident involving a hit-and-run last weekend.
“If we just have a heart instead of recording everything, there could have been another life saved,” Nicole Murrell said.
Murrell said her sister started CPR while her niece called 911; several other bystanders stood by recording.
First responders said the hit-and-run incident is not isolated.
“We’ve encountered that a lot,” Indianapolis Fire Department Spokeswoman Rita Reith said. “Bystanders at a scene will be more interested in filming what they are looking at than actually taking action to either active the 911 system or offer assistance to whoever may be injured at the time.”
Reith said to always make sure you pick up the phone.
“We would much rather be inundated with lots of 911 calls about a particular incident, because that’s how we get a lot of our preliminary information as we are en route to the scene,” she said.