A Texas man has launched a petition to make it easier to dial 911 in motels, which require dialing an outside extension before the actual number, after his daughter could not be saved following a brutal attack on her in an East Texas motel.
The petition, launched in change.org by Hank Hunt, attempts to ensure than any person needing police, EMS or the fire department assistance in any hotel or motel in the country should be able to dial 911 directly and receive emergency response, rather than having to dial an extension, before the emergency number.
Kari Rene Hunt was brutally murdered on 1 December 2013 in front of her three children, aged nine, four and three. She was ambushed and attacked by her estranged husband - whom she had intended to divorce - in the Baymont Inn hotel in East Texas.
The husband, Brad Allen Dunn, allegedly ambushed Kari after cornering her in the restroom, where she later succumbed to her injuries. However, after the struggle, Kari's oldest daughter had attempted to dial 911 from the room phone as instructed by her injured mother but she did not know that she needed to dial the outside extension '9' first, before dialing 911.
The petitioner says that the incident took place in one of the Wyndham Hotels, the parent company of Baymont Inn.
The petition, which demands the enactment of what has been called the "Kari's Law", claims that anyone in an emergency, let alone an underage child, will depend on dialing 911 from any phone in the United States to receive assistance. But having to dial an extension digit only adds to the complexity in a highly panicky and confused situation.
"We pray the lawmakers in our Congress and Senate hear the cries of Kari and her children and enact a law requiring all hotel and motel chains, including all "Mom & Pop" locations have all phone systems updated to E911 systems. These systems allow the 911 call to automatically connect to a 911 operator without having to dial a "9" in order to get an outside line and give emergency personnel the business name, floor and room or suite number", the petition said.
"Seconds count and when a 9 year old little girl is mature and brave enough to attempt to dial for help, she should be answered," it added.
The petition, which apparently needs 500,000 supporters, already has 402,804 supports as of Friday. Click here to sign the petition.
