'Don't know why you're freaking out': US woman drowns while on phone to 911

At one point, the dispatcher told Debra Stevens to 'shut up'. Photo / YouTube

A shocking 911 phone call has been released that reveals a woman's plea for her life as she drowned while on the phone to the emergency service operator in the US.

Authorities in the state of Arkansas are investigating the now-former 911 operator who answered the phone call by a desperate newspaper delivery woman who drowned while driving into floodwaters.

Debra Stevens, 47, was at one point told by the 911 dispatcher to "shut up" while she drowned.

Former 911 operator Donna Reneau sent emergency personnel to find Stevens, who had driven into an apartment complex carpark in a desperate attempt to escape flooding waters on August 24.

At one point, the dispatcher told Debra Stevens to 'shut up'. Photo / YouTube

Reneau stayed on the phone with Stevens while she drowned, mocked her and told her to "shut up".

The Fort Smith Police Department has released audio recordings of the call.

Stevens: "Please help me. I don't wanna die."

Reneau: "You're not going to die - hold on for a minute."

Stevens: "Well I need um, I'm scared. I'm sorry."

Reneau: "I understand that you're scared but there's nothing I can do sitting in a chair so you're going to have to hold on and I'm going to send you somebody, okay?"

The phone call with 911 lasted about 24 minutes as Stevens' car filled up with water and she eventually died.

Reneau: "You're not going to die. I don't know why you're freaking out. It's okay. I know the water level is high."

Stevens: "I'm scared. I'm sorry."

Reneau: "I understand that but you freaking out - doing nothing but losing your oxygen up in there so calm down."

Stevens: "When are they going to be here?"

Reneau: "As soon as they get there."

Stevens: "I'm scared. I've never had anything like this happen to me before."

Reneau: "This will teach you next time don't drive in the water."

Stevens: "Couldn't see it ma'am. I'm sorry or I wouldn't have."

Reneau: "I don't see how you didn't see it. You had to go right over it, so."

Emergency personnel arrived at the scene about 12 minutes after Stevens called 911 but it took them more than an hour to reach her.

The incident left the community outraged at the behaviour of the 911 dispatcher.

"I understand that listening to a person going through the panic that Ms Stephens was in those final moments of her life, we would all hope that we would get a little bit better response than perhaps she was given. I don't want us interacting with anyone in that way, whether it's a life and death situation or not," Danny Baker, the interim police chief, said.

According to Baker, Reneau had already handed in her two weeks' notice and the call with Stevens happened on her last shift.

"I don't think the dispatcher realised or understood the severity of the situation," he said.

However, he said she wouldn't have been fired even if she hadn't already resigned.

"She did nothing criminally wrong. I'm not even going to go so far as saying she violated policy," Baker said.