When Molly Anderson got into a wreck last March – crashing her car into a hearse loaded with a coffin on a busy Knoxville highway – she wasn’t hurt but she needed help.
The problem: Anderson cannot speak, a result of a speech disability she has had since birth. In tears and feeling helpless, Anderson relied on a bystander to call 911.
Anderson, 25, and her husband, Joshua, 24, have since advocated for legislation to ensure that every 911 operator in Tennessee has the ability to receive text messages during emergencies.
A bill by Sen. Becky Massey and Rep. Eddie Mannis, both Knoxville Republicans, would require all local emergency communications districts to provide text-to-911 services by Jan. 1, 2023. The bill, which has received nearly universal praise from lawmakers, is on track to become law.
Already at least 11 of Tennessee’s 95 counties provide the services, with 38 additional counties in the process of establishing text services, Massey said. The measure, if enacted, would make the service uniformly accessible across the state.