Deaf Man Crawls For Help After Car Wreck

Deaf News: Injured Deaf man crawls for help following car accident in eastern Idaho.



DOWNEY, ID -- Idaho State Journal: Sheriff's deputies have located a badly injured Deaf man who became stranded after crashing his car near this southern Bannock County town.



Around 12:20 a.m. Thursday the Bannock County Sheriff's Office confirmed that deputies had found the 50-year-old Downey man on Highway 91 near Red Rock Rock. The man had reportedly crawled over a mile from the scene of the crash to Highway 91 in an attempt to find help.



The Sheriff's Office was not sure where exactly the Deaf man had crashed his car. The man was still being treated at the scene of the crash as of 12:20 a.m. Thursday but he was about to be transported via ambulance to Portneuf Medical Center in Pocatello.



Reports indicated the man suffered multiple injuries in the crash and long crawl to Highway 91 but the Sheriff's Office said he's expected to survive.



The incident began to unfold around 11 p.m. Wednesday when the man texted his Mormon bishop stating that he had crashed his car and was badly hurt and stranded. The man did not say in his text where the crash occurred and contact could not be re-established, so the bishop called the Bannock County Sheriff's Office and deputies were dispatched to find the man.



The Sheriff's Office tried to call the man but he did not answer his cell phone. Authorities then attempted to locate the man by pinging a signal off his cell phone.



That effort revealed he was within 10,000 meters of Highway 91 between Downey and Preston not very exact coordinates.



Deputies then began searching all the roads along the Highway 91 corridor in southern Bannock County, eventually finding the man crawling on the highway about six miles southeast of Downey.



The man's identity has not yet been released.



SOURCE

Deaf Man's 911 Text Saves House From Fire

Deaf News - Deaf man's 911 text went to operators at Oakland County Dispatch Center to saves house from fire.



ROCHESTER HILLS, MI -- WDIV Detroit: It seems as if people text more than they talk in modern days. That's why some communities have started allowing people to text 911.



Residents in Oakland County are allowed to text 911 and a message will appear on a screen for a dispatcher to read. A Deaf Rochester Hills man said the texting system saved his house from burning down.



The fire started when the man's mother, Mary Powers, tried to clean the oven.



"I smelled something and I came out here and the oven was on fire," Powers said.



She ran back in the room to tell her son, Scott Powers, to get help.



"I told him to call 911," she said.



Her son pulled out his cellphone but didn't dial.



"That means text because he's Deaf," Powers said.



"I'm Deaf, I can't talk on the phone, need fire department immediately," the text read.



The text went right through to operators at the Oakland County Dispatch Center.



Oakland County has been equipped with the 911 text messaging for just over a year. They average around 12 emergency text messages a day. Scott Powers owns his house and is thankful the county can accommodate his needs.



"I like to be independent without depending on other people," he said. "I used to think, 'What would I do if my house was on fire?' The first thing I used to think was, 'Run to my neighbor.'"



He's fortunate to live in an area where he can get emergency help. He hopes other communities will get on board with the technology.



"When I'm on the road visiting a friend, sometimes it doesn't work," Powers said. "I'll text 911. I'd get a response back saying it's not available."



This was the first time the Rochester Hills Fire Department benefited from the 911 text. But they realize this will likely not be the last time.



SOURCE