BAKER COUNTY, Fla. — Cheryl Collins’ voice cracked with fear as she pleaded with a Baker County 911 dispatcher for help.

“My daughter passed out on the floor and I don’t know what to do.”

Her 28-year-old daughter, Emily, lay lifeless on the bathroom floor. Cheryl had made the call no parent ever wants to make. She was desperate, terrified, and clinging to hope that someone on the other end could guide her through saving her daughter’s life.

“Do I do anything like compressions or anything?” Cheryl asked.

“You’re completely fine. Yes, ma’am. You are fine. I’ll get someone headed that way,” the dispatcher replied.

However, Collins did not receive the life-saving instructions she so desperately needed. No CPR instructions. No medical guidance. Just the promise that help was on the way.

“Help me with CPR or something,” Cheryl pleaded moments later.

The response from the dispatcher: “It’s going to get quiet for just a second while I’m talking to rescue, but stay on the line with me, OK?”

Emily Collins had struggled with chronic illness, but this time, her mother said, something was different. She hoped a dispatcher would tell her how to perform CPR until paramedics arrived.

The dispatcher later admitted what no caller wants to hear during an emergency.

“I am not able to give CPR instructions over the phone,” she said. “Um, I’m not sure if that was something you wanted to start doing, um, but they are coming as quick as possible.”

Cheryl watched helplessly as the minutes dragged on. Emily never regained consciousness.

“Anthony, those 9 minutes were the longest 9 minutes you could ever imagine,” Cheryl said.

Now, the family is left with unimaginable grief and a list of painful questions. 

Florida law is clear: all 911 dispatchers must be trained in CPR and able to provide over-the-phone instructions. If they’re not, the law requires them to transfer the call to someone who is.

That didn’t happen in Emily Collins’ case in November 2024.

“You don’t know if CPR could have saved your daughter’s life,” Anthony Austin said to Cheryl. “But you didn’t even have the chance to find out.”

“And now I blame myself and I blame the 911 dispatcher and the sheriff’s office,” she replied.

Dennis Collins, Cheryl’s husband, shook his head during the interview.

“I can’t believe it. It’s unimaginable that they wouldn’t tell you how to save a life,” he said.

In response to questions from Anthony Austin, Baker County Undersheriff Randy Crews confirmed the dispatcher was not trained in CPR when she took the call.

“Since the incident involving Miss Collins’ daughter Emily, the Baker County Dispatch Division has taken significant steps to improve our emergency response capabilities,” Crews said in a statement.

He said the county is now implementing Emergency Medical Dispatcher (EMD) training and adding over-the-phone CPR guidance for dispatchers. 

Crews acknowledged that limited resources have long posed a challenge.

“Baker County is a fiscally constrained county, and maintaining full staffing remains a challenge,” he said. “I submitted a request to the Baker County Board of Commissioners for additional funding to support both increased dispatcher staffing and the cost of EMD training. That request was approved, and we are moving forward with these enhancements.”

For Cheryl and Dennis Collins, the changes are welcome, but too late to save Emily.

“We’re not giving up until we get something done for Baker County and its residents,” Cheryl and Dennis Collins said.

Anthony Austin reached out to Baker County commissioners for comment on funding and what oversight is in place to ensure 911 dispatchers comply with state law. The Ask Anthony team is also investigating 911 dispatch protocols in neighboring counties.

If you have a problem you can’t solve, email AskAnthony@firstcoastnews.com