Ever Dial 911 From a Hotel Room?

A recent tragedy in Texas has spurred two New Jersey lawmakers to sponsor a bill to allow hotel guests to direct dial to 911.

“There’s no time to waste when a life is in danger,” said bill co-sponsor Assemblyman Reed Gusciora (D-Trenton) in an emailed statement Thursday. “It is extremely important for anyone, especially a child, to be able to use a phone system easily in an emergency. When a person dials 911, they should be able to get to emergency personnel.”

In December 2013, Kari Rene Hunt was stabbed to death by her estranged husband in a hotel room in Marshall, Texas. As she was being attacked, Kari’s 9-year-old daughter tried to call 911, but the call never went through because she didn’t know she had to first dial the number 9 in order to get an outside line.”

“Every second counts in an emergency,” said bill co-sponsor Assemblywoman Nancy Pinkin (D-Edison) in a statement Thursday. “Any person should be able to dial 911 directly from a phone in a hotel room. In an emergency, not having to dial or remembering to dial 9 does make a difference when it means saving a life.”

The New Jersey Assembly Homeland Security and Preparedness Committee approved the measure Thursday.