Back in the early 1990's, when I was a young, single woman, I lived in Austin, Texas. One night, I was coming home from being out at a club and I saw someone lying in the road near my house. I called 911 when I got home, since this was the era before cell phones. This is the conversation I had with the 911 operator, or at least this is how I remember it.
Me: Hello? I'd like to report that there's someone lying face down in the road near my house.
911 Operator: Is it a man or a woman?
Me: I think it's a man.
911: Is he dead?
Me: I don't know. He wasn't moving when I drove by.
911: Was he bleeding?
Me: Not that I could tell, but it was dark.
911: So why didn't you get out and help him?
Me: What? Er...It's 3 am, and I'm by myself, so I didn't know if it would be safe to do that.
911: So there's a guy lying in the road near your house and you didn't think it would be safe to you know, maybe check and see if he was dead?
Me: No, I thought I'd leave it to the professionals to check and see if he was dead. Are you going to send someone or not? I just called to see if you could send a police car over to check on this person before someone runs over him.
911: Oh, so you ran over him? Is that why he's lying in the road? (laughs)
Me: ...
911: Ma'am, are you still there?
Me: Yes. I mean, no! I most certainly did not run him over.
911: No need to get all indignant on me ma'am. I'm just kidding. I need to know if I should send an ambulance, too. If you ran over him, I'd need to dispatch an ambulance.
Me: No, I did not run over him. Look, if he stays out there while you try to figure out who to send over, he might get run over and if he's not dead now, then he will be.
911: You have a point. So what's the address of where this maybe dead/maybe not dead person is lying in the road?
Me: 5th and X St.
911: Is he on the left or the right side of the street.
Me: On the left.
911: Your left or my left?
Me: He's the only guy lying in the street. You can't miss him.
911: I'll send over a cruiser to check it out. Have a nice night, ma'am.
