911 call documents woman's terrifying escape

HOLLY SPRINGS

Her plea for help came as she sped away from her enraged ex-boyfriend. The incident began as a domestic dispute and ended in gunshots last week in Holly Springs.

"I'm scared," the woman told a 911 operator. "He told me I was going to die today."

"No, that's not going to happen," the operator responded. "We're not going to let that happen. We're not going to let that happen. I need you to stay calm for me, okay. Stay as calm as you can."

The woman then told the operator, "I think he's coming up behind me. Send help, please!"

Police say Jeremy Jones' ex-girlfriend made that frantic call Friday. She raced down US 1 in Chatham County and headed into Wake County.

Then she exited off onto NC 55 and sped towards Holly Springs, but dispatchers needed her to turn around. They said she was driving away from officers.

"He's behind me!" she screamed.

"Ma'am, can you turn around?" asked the dispatcher.

"Oh my god I don't know where I'm going, please," the woman said frantically.

The dispatcher tried to calm her down.

"Listen to me ma'am, listen," the dispatcher said. "You're going toward Holly Springs. I need you to turn make a U-turn for me."

"Ma'am, I can't," the woman replied. "He's behind me. If I slow down, he's going to get me. Please!"

The woman eventually turned around. And when she did, police say Jones opened fire, hitting her car several times. He crashed moments later.

Police say that's when he shot and killed himself.

The people in the car he hit are okay, and Jones' ex-girlfriend suffered minor injuries. Police have not released her identity.

The advice from the 911 operator to make a U-turn is being questioned considering the man chasing the woman had a gun.

Chatham County HR Director Carolyn Miller says she has been going over the tape with dispatchers, reconstructing what happened.

"We didn't know if law enforcement was up ahead," Miller said. "We knew where they were; we thought it was imperative to get her back to where there was help."

Miller says it's impossible to know what might have happened had the caller not made that U-turn.

Miller adds that the tape will be used as a training tool to examine decisions that were made and show how to stay calm when callers are not.

One other thing that might come out of this was when the caller went through multiple cities and towns it greatly complicating things for dispatch.

Because of that, the director of emergency ops in Chatham County wants to bring counterparts from all over the Triangle together to figure out how to work better with each other.

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