"Please, I need some help."
The voice coming across the 911 phone line was strong with just a tinge of panic.
She went on to tell the operator she was trapped by “a little” water and tried to describe the location.
"Ma’am. Ma’am. Ma’am. Ma’am. Ma’am. Ma’am. I need first and foremost you have to calm down. OK? If I’m going to help you, you gotta work with me,” the 911 dispatcher said to Seydi Burciaga.
The dispatcher’s voice was the last one the Gwinnett County mother of two heard before floodwater filled her Nissan Quest and took her life Monday before daybreak.
The tape of the 16-minute call recorded the final frightening moments before Burciaga’s death as she pleaded for help to come to Desiree Drive, just three-tenths of a mile from her home in Lawrenceville.
An expert in 911 procedures said the dispatcher apparently responded properly. Ted Wynn -- a member of the Georgia Peace Officers Standards and Training Council committee that establishes emergency dispatcher training and procedures -- noted that the Gwinnett County operator first got Burciaga's cell phone number in case they were disconnected. The dispatcher also got Burciaga's name, several times checking the spelling, so that information can go into required reports and, most importantly, so the dispatcher can use her name to connect and calm the panicked woman. All the while, the operator was tying the information into the system so another dispatcher could relay the information to police and fire rescuerers.
"I think it was handled appropriately," Wynn said Wednesday.
The recording of the call reflects the confusion and panic Burciaga was experiencing while the dispatcher tried to keep her calm enough to provide needed information.
It was 5 a.m. Monday and Burciaga had just finished her overnight shift at Sam's Club, where she worked for a decade.
A police officer and the fire department rescuers were at Desiree Drive within a few minutes of Burciaga’s call but water standing five to six feet over the road blocked them. The Gwinnett County police officer wrote in the report rescuers then tried reaching her from behind Alford Elementary School but “several barbed wire fences, thick brush and the rushing water” stood in the way. The report said the water from the swollen creek was seven to nine feet in places.
Officers tried to scale a concrete wall. The water was moving too fast and the debris was too much to let them get to the area where Burciaga told the dispatcher her minivan was floating.
Almost 2 ½ hours later, the maroon-colored Quest was spotted about 300 yards off Desiree Drive; the water line showed the creek had gotten at least foot or two over the roof of the Quest.
Burciaga’s body was found on the back seat of the family mini van.
In the first moments of the call Burciaga sounded stressed but not panicked.
“My car gets behind one of the houses,” said Burciaga with a slight accent. “There was a little water. I’m very behind the house.”
The dispatcher first admonished the woman. “Are you in your vehicle? Listen to my question. Answer one question at a time. Don't say anything more. Your vehicle is where?”
“The water throwed me behind one of the houses. It’s moving. It’s floating,” Burciaga said.
The dispatcher asks for information – her name and her cell phone number and a description of what the woman could see, repeating the words as she typed.
“I didn’t see the road. And my car stopped,” Burciaga said.
A creek feeding the Yellow River had overflowed, creating a rapidly flowing river that covered outdoor buildings and floated some cars.
Burciaga told the dispatcher the car was wedged in some trees behind a yellow house, across the street from a gray house.
“I'm almost floating already,” Burciaga said. “Please come help me. Please!”
“Alright, ma’am. Just stay as calm as possible,” the dispatcher said.
“My car is turning down. Now the wheels is [sic] getting up. I’m going to drown,” said Burciaga, the fear in her voice increasing.
“Listen to me. You’re not going to drown,” the dispatcher said.
Burciaga was in the back seat of the minivan. The recording did not explain why she had moved there or why she could not open the windows to escape.
“Do whatever you can to get out of your vehicle,” the dispatcher said.
“I’m stuck. The water, it’s too fast.”
Burciaga said she could see only trees and water. The recording picked up the sound for the water coming into the minivan.
“Oh my God. Please help me. Quickly,” Burciaga pleaded.
Burciaga began to cry.
“It’s taking me down ... I’m going to drown,” she said again.
“You’re not going to drown. We’re gonna to be there for you. Just stay with me, ” the dispatcher said.
“Try not to cry. We're gonna think of something positive right now... Try to look outside and be as calm as you can can so that we can try to figure out options for us. Okay?,” the dispatcher said. "Tell me what is around you."
Only trees and water, she said.
“Please. I have two children,” Barciaga said.
“Ma'am, don't cry,” The dispatcher said.
“Okay,” Barciaga said.
“You’ve gotta stop crying and work with me. You've gotta stay strong,” the dispatcher said. “… I know you’re scared, baby. I know you’re scared.”
The van started to move again, and Barciaga said the water was at her neck.
“It’s coming fast.”
Look out the window, the dispatcher says again; look for landmarks.
She tells Barciaga to go to the front of the van to look for something to break the window.
“You can get your keys and you can knock out the windows ... Do what you can,” the dispatcher said. “Bust it out.”
Barciaga starts to scream.
“Listen to me, baby. Listen to me. Don’t hang up the phone. Seydi, don’t hang up the phone,” the dispatcher pleaded.
But the call had terminated.
