Service Outage Prevents Verizon Customers From Calling 9-1-1, Landlines

A service outage related to Tuesday night’s storm is preventing Verizon wireless customers from calling 9-1-1 and other landlines, according to the West Windsor Police Department.

“While not much happened in Mercer County, South Jersey is without power, trees are down everywhere and the roadways are littered with trees on power lines,” the police department said in an alert on Wednesday. “Verizon has no estimate on the return of service but expect delays when venturing south.”

The outage is impacting parts of Pennsylvania, South Jersey and Delaware.

One Verizon customer found herself in a scary situation as a result of the service outage.

“I tried desperately to make any phone calls,” Hammonton resident Amanda Ingemi said. “911 was down. My van was not moving and trees were flying around us, power lines were sparking.”

Her van had been hit by a tree while she was driving in Winslow Township during the storm.

“I was scared for my life and the life of the 3 kids that were with me,” she said.

She said an ambulance happened to drive by. She managed to flag them down. Emergency personnel was able to rescue her and the three children, and take them to a nearby hospital.

“Scariest day of my life,” she said. “So grateful I saw an ambulance.”