Mathews County Sheriff April Edwards, at the Oct. 17 meeting of the Mathews County Board of Supervisors, recognized her 911 dispatchers for their performance on Sept. 29, when one of the dispatchers was struck by another vehicle while on her way to work, resulting in a major accident with lengthy road closures.
“To hear the cries of help from a co-worker who is usually the one answering 911 calls from others can be heartbreaking and often unbearable,” she said.
Edwards said that in her entire career she had never seen such a significant team effort, from the dispatcher “to the deputies arriving on scene and being emotionally attached to the person involved, to fire and rescue treating our dispatcher as if she was their family.”
She said Chief 2 Steve Ray responded to the 911 center to be with dispatchers until additional relief arrived, and dispatchers came from other counties, as far as an hour away, to fill in, and continue to do so while the dispatcher is on leave.
“This is what thi...