Politics & Government

Bertino-Tarrant Pushes for Universal 911 Dialing After Texas Tragedy

A 9-year-old girl was unable to call for help as her mother was stabbed to death in a hotel room because she didn't know she had to dial "9" first.

The horrific murder of a Texas woman as her children listened helplessly has inspired an Illinois legislator to push for universal 911 dialing.

Kari Hunt allegedly died at the hands of her estranged husband, who is accused of repeatedly stabbing her in the bathroom of an East Texas hotel room in December 2013. The couple's 9-year-old daughter tried to use the hotel phone to call for help — but didn't know she had to dial "9" to reach an outside line.  The girl attempted to call 911 four times, but each time got only static, grandfather Hank Hunt said.

State Sen. Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant, D-Shorewood, said she's pushing for legislation that would require newly installed business phone systems to be connected in such a way that users can call 911 without having to first pre-dial a code such as "9." 

“We teach our children to dial 9-1-1,” Bertino-Tarrant said in a press release issued Thursday. “That number should work at all times and from anywhere ... We need to ensure that everyone, especially children, can easily reach emergency operators in a time of crisis."

Bertino-Tarrant's proposal passed out of committee Wednesday and will move on to the full Senate.

The issue is also being taken up on the federal level. Kari Hunt's father, Hank Hunt, has launched an online petition to enact "Kari's Law," which would require hotels and other businesses to have phone systems that allow calls to connect automatically to 911. More than 440,000 people have signed the petition so far.




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