Kris Kirschner/Eyewitness News
Hancock County - It took a five-year-old girl to save her father's life. She talked to 911 dispatchers when she thought her father was having a heart attack.
About 9:30 Monday night, Hancock county dispatcher Jason Bonham got a call. At first, he couldn't understand the person who was on the line.
A man was in distress and unable to speak.
"You could hear the father hear a little bit where he said tell 'em or take it," said Bonham.
That's when Savannah, the man's five-year-old daughter, picked up the phone.
"My dad can't hardly breathe," she told Bonham.
The call to 911 came from a cell phone, so dispatchers didn't automatically have an address.
With her father's help, the little voice clearly repeated their street address, and with time of the essence, gave dispatchers all the information they needed.
"Is your Daddy still awake?"
"Yeah."
"Most people when you talk to them, they're hysterical," said Bonham.
Her calm was not nearly as surprising as her tender age.
"How old are you?"
"I'm five years old."
"Every time I've listened to it it's amazing. She's just a little person," said Bonham.
For nearly ten minutes she stayed on the line, handling a scary situation with courage and grace.
"He looks like he's real shaky," Savannah said.
"You're doing a good job, all right, Savannah? They should be there in a few minutes."
"How many minutes?"
"Okay, you have to stay awake they'll be here in a couple minutes."
"It's okay, Dad."
"We were able to get 'em there versus four to five minutes delay of trying to get an address and another delay of getting them there," said Bonham.
Savannah is now credited for saving her father's life.
The girl's father was back at work Wednesday as doctors try to figure out what happened.
