Judge sets $17.6 million damages in deaths from botched 911 call

Circuit Judge Timothy Fox has awarded a $17.6 million default judgment against Candace Middleton, a former city of Little Rock 911 dispatcher who mishandled a call Jan. 14, 2013 on a traffic accident in which two people eventually died.

The award went to the estate of Le Yang, who died Jan. 19, 2015 at age 7, after his near-drowning in the accident that prompted the emergency call.

Jinglei Yi and her son Le Yang were en route to pre-school when her SUV hit a patch of ice in western Little Rock and slid into a pond near Capitol Hill Boulevard. Jinglei called 911. Middleton took the call and said help was on the way.

MEMS arrived, but Middleton had failed to call police and fire water rescue, necessary to reach the submerged vehicle. They were dispatched only after MEMS reported no one else was at the scene. It was 55 minutes after the accident before mother and son were pulled from the vehicle. She died later that morning. The child was severely disabled and died two years later.

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