Billie Shepperd was planning her daughter Sheila’s 60th birthday party in June 2020 when the phone rang.

She had been imagining family members traveling from Washington, DC, to celebrate at the beach with crab legs and potato salad, when she picked up to hear Maria Shepperd, her granddaughter and Sheila’s daughter, sobbing.

Maria was alone, performing chest compressions on her mother after she had fainted and stopped breathing. The 13-year-old had called 911 — like tens of millions of people do each year when they need help — then called Billie from another phone as she spoke to the dispatcher.

Billie heard Maria give 911 her correct address.

“She said it so clearly and often, 414 Oglethorpe Northeast,” Billie recalled.

But medics were instead dispatched to 414 Oglethorpe Northwest, n

See Full Page