Timeline of Milwaukee bus stop freezing death, from her 911 call to response from ambulance, fire
Milwaukee Fire Department officials and leaders of the private Curtis Ambulance service are facing backlash after they revealed a Curtis crew did not get out of their truck to look for a woman who fell, hit her head near a bus stop and died of hypothermia earlier this month.
A news conference Tuesday made clear the timeline of when, and how, both the Curtis Ambulance crew and later the Milwaukee Fire Department crew responded to the scene at North 76th and West Congress streets.
The Curtis crew spent about two minutes looking out the windows of their truck for the woman who fell and about four minutes total at the scene.
While James Baker, president of Curtis Ambulance, insisted the crew members didn't do anything wrong, Milwaukee Ald. Mark Borkowski slammed the company's response as "pathetic" and "insensitive."
Jolene Waldref, 49, of South Milwaukee, leaves behind two daughters, ages 14 and 21.
The following chronology is based on accounts from Baker; Curtis' vice president, Dan Robakowski; Assistant Fire Chief Joshua Parish; and a report from the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's office.
This story will be updated if more information becomes available.
Sometime before 5:22 p.m.: Jolene Waldref slips on ice at bus stop
Jolene Waldref leaves her job as a receptionist at Life Touches Home Healthcare and walks a block and a half to the intersection of North 76th and West Congress streets to reach a bus stop.
Nearby surveillance footage, which fire officials said has no timestamp, shows Waldref slipping on ice and falling. She hits her head on a fence surrounding a nearby property.
5:22 p.m.: Waldref calls 911
Dispatchers with the Milwaukee Police Department's call center take her call and transfer it to the Milwaukee Fire Department's call center within a minute.
5:23 p.m.: Milwaukee Fire Department send Curtis Ambulance to look for Waldref
MFD dispatchers give the call a low priority and send an ambulance from the private Curtis Ambulance service to the intersection to look for Waldref.
5:27 p.m.: Curtis ambulance crew drives by looking for Waldref
Curtis ambulance crew arrives and drives eastbound on West Congress Street, looking out the windows at the bus stops on the southwest and southeast corners. Then the crew does a U-turn and looks at the stops on the northeast and northwest corners. They do not leave the truck.
Then they do another U-turn and park the ambulance, facing the intersection. They were likely parked feet away from Waldref, who lay at the northwest corner. They call the dispatch center and say they don't see Waldref.
5:29 p.m.: A dispatcher calls Waldref's cellphone
The call goes straight to voicemail. The dispatcher waits two minutes.
5:31 p.m.: Another call to Waldref
The dispatcher tries her phone again, and it again goes to voicemail. The ambulance crew "clears" the call and leaves the scene.
5:45 p.m.: Two bystanders call 911
Two people encounter Waldref on the sidewalk, unconscious and face-down in a snowbank, and they both simultaneously call 911 while standing next to her. This time, the call has a higher priority and paramedics from the Milwaukee Fire Department are sent to the scene.
5:52 p.m.: Milwaukee Fire Department paramedics arrive
The paramedics who arrive at the scene try to revive Waldref, but cannot.
6:13 p.m.: A doctor pronounces Waldref dead.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Timeline of Milwaukee bus stop death, 911 call, ambulance response
