Folks who misuse the emergency telephone number often end up getting more than they bargained for – like the Ohio prankster busted last month after thinking it would be a hoot to report a fire in her privates.
However, a Florida woman who assumed 911 worked as a taxi number did manage to secure the ride she was after this week – the only catch being that it was a journey straight to the local slammer.
Sarah Alameh allegedly dialled emergency services four times Wednesday to ask for a ride to a nearby city. But the cops had a different destination in mind and were happy to oblige.
The persistent 31-year-old from Eagle Lake, 60 miles southwest of Orlando, was charged with misuse of 911, the Winter Haven Police Department said in a Facebook post.
Alameh first called the emergency response line at around 2.45 a.m. and simply said “hello” before hanging up. Officers went to the approximate area of the call, near Winter Haven Hospital, but couldn’t find anyone. She called again at 3 a.m. but the call disconnected.
Police responding a second time to the same location found Alameh in the hospital parking lot. She told officers that she had called because she needed “a ride to another city,” according to the police department.
An officer warned Alameh that 911 was for emergencies only and that she would have to leave the hospital grounds unless she required medical treatment.
Undeterred, Alameh ambled over to the sidewalk and placed a third 911 call, this time complaining that the officer had refused to provide the service she wanted – “a taxpayer-sponsored taxi ride,” according to the department’s post.
The officers issued another warning, but Alameh was nothing if not determined.
After she called 911 a fourth and final time, the exasperated cops finally decided to throw in the towel and lay on that ride – straight to the Polk County Jail in Bartow.