By Steve Landwehr
Staff writer
April 17, 2008 05:45 am IPSWICH — Emergency 911 dispatcher David Irvine was one of 11 dispatchers commended statewide yesterday with presentation of the first Massachusetts 911 Honors Awards. Irvine could not be on hand for the ceremonies in Mechanics Hall in Worcester — he booked a cruise months ago, police Chief Gavin Keenan said yesterday. Irvine was working the desk at 5 p.m. on Nov. 9. The caller was using a cell phone and said he'd been hit by a car and was badly injured. To make matters worse, he did not live locally and had no idea where he was. Keenan said Irvine calmly kept the victim talking — "On the 911 tape, you can hear him fading in and out" — and tried to elicit clues. In the meantime, officers tracked the GPS signal from the man's phone and figured he was somewhere in the vicinity of Asbury Street in Topsfield. It turns out he had been hit so hard he'd been knocked into a field. Topsfield and Ipswich police officers searched the scene and finally found the victim, who had suffered multiple fractures. "He was in tremendous pain and suffering," Keenan said. The man was airlifted to a Boston hospital for treatment. Topsfield police Chief Evan Haglund said the hit-and-run case remains under investigation. Based on evidence found at the scene, Haglund said the car involved is possibly German-made and light in color. There were no eye witnesses. Keenan said Irvine gave the victim hope that help was on its way. "He did a great job," Keenan said. "He's a credit to the place." Irvine aspires to a career in law enforcement and is a member of the reserve force, Keenan said.
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