PETERSBURG, Va. -- Driving up on an accident can often result in a very exhilarating phone call to 911.
This was the case just a couple of weeks ago in Petersburg, only this time the man who made the frantic phone call, wanted to make sure the dispatcher who answered knew how much she was appreciated.
Tyrone Jackson Jr. says he was distraught when he had to phone 911 after he came across a single-car accident. The car involved had run off the road and into the nearby woods, where it eventually hit a tree.
On the other end of the 911 call was 7-year veteran dispatcher, Kiana Mason.
"Sometimes you have to elevate your voice just to get them to understand," Mason said. For her, it was just another day on the job.
But for Jackson? It was not an ordinary day and he says the way Mason handled the call stuck with him.
He called Petersburg Chief of Police Travis Christian and soon learned of Mason's story.
"She was expecting a child. She was 9 months pregnant," Jackson said.
So he instantly decided to help her out and enlisted the help of his fraternity, Kappa Alpha Psi.
"Here it is Memorial Day Weekend and they're at work. Most people are off today but they're at work because someone has to man this 24/7," said Darrin Hill of Kappa Alpha Psi.
The fraternity decided to shower Mason with a little bit of everything a newborn and mother would need.
"I was in complete shock," Mason said. "I mean it means a lot, like you say, we don't get it too often so when you do, it definitely makes us feel like we're well deserved in our field you don't get it a lot."
For Jackson and Mason, voices over the phone now come with faces.
"She's a silent hero, to me she was a silent hero that day that saved lives, that saved a life," Jackson said.
As the years go by, the calls to 911 eventually fade, but this day will always remain a vivid memory for both.
"Because something meaningful came out of it," Mason said. "It made a difference to someone else and someone else is making a difference in my life, whether they know it or not."
Jackson says he believes simplicity can often change lives. "Sometimes a simple thank you can go a long way."
Mason is due to have her second child, due on June 24.
She is also thankful for all the gifts in blue, considering this time she knows she will be having a baby boy.
As for Kappa Alpha Psi - Mason's gifts are rolling in not just from the local Petersburg chapter, but from Washington D.C., down to Hampton Roads.
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