Silent 911 call helps police find, rescue ailing woman
Published: March 7, 2007
Most of the time, 911 hang ups are just that: hang ups. Or pranks. Or wrong numbers.
But yesterday morning in the Town of Newburgh, one turned out to be a call for help.
It came from a 72-year-old woman who police found collapsed on the floor of her Balmville home after a 911 call came in from the house with nothing but light breathing on the calling end.
Filomena Saponaro apparently collapsed from complications from the flu and diabetes, said town police Sgt. Leif Spencer. After about two hours on the floor, she was able to crawl to the phone and dial 911, but was unable to speak.
911 operators alerted police, who couldn’t reach anybody at the house. After talking with neighbors, Patrolman Taso Karabelas forced open the front door and found Saponaro, who lives alone. She was taken to St. Luke’s Cornwall Hospital and is recovering there, Spencer said.
“We go to all 911 hang ups, and usually, it’s nothing,” Spencer said. “But this time we might have saved her life.”
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