San Bernardino

Text to 911 Helps Deaf Woman in Distress

"If you don't have anybody to call for you and you have a cellphone, this will actually save your life," said the woman about Text-to-911

A deaf woman feeling symptoms of a stroke summoned help by text messaging 911, becoming the first person in San Bernardino County to use the service since the county began utilizing it earlier this month, police said.

When Roseanna Raman needed help at home, she found herself in a dangerous situation.

"I can't hear nobody on the phone," she said. "I don't know why it popped up in my mind, 911. And I did it. So then I text them and they text back, just like that."

Within minutes, Raman was in an ambulance on her way to the hospital, where doctors made sure she was OK - and she was.

According to the San Bernardino Police Department, Raman was the first person to use Text-to-911 for what it was intended, since the county launched the new system on Dec. 10.

"Every community should be on board with this," said Lt. Richard Lawhead, spokesman for the SBPD.

On Wednesday morning, there was another incident in which a 15-year-old boy saved his father from suicide.

Local

Get Los Angeles's latest local news on crime, entertainment, weather, schools, COVID, cost of living and more. Here's your go-to source for today's LA news.

900 unhoused people died in the city of LA in 2023, report says

LA, Long Beach ports may see increase in cargo traffic as a result of Baltimore bridge tragedy

"Officers were able to respond, get the father into custody and saw that he was taken for proper medical evaluations," Lawhead said.

As of Wednesday, more than 20 San Bernardino County agencies are using Text-to-911.

Several agencies in Riverside County are also utilizing it, joining nearly 500 agencies across the nation.

Rama says it should be available everywhere, because there are millions who can't hear or speak.

"If you don't have anybody to call for you and you have a cellphone, this will actually save your life," she said.

Contact Us