Couple Called 911 After ‘Disoriented’ Woman Knocked on Their Door. She Froze to Death While Waiting for Help to Arrive: Lawsuit

YOU NEED TO KNOW

• Alecia Ai Lindsay, 31, died of hypothermia on February 8, 2024, after authorities were notified by a resident that she was sitting on the ground outside her home.

• More than two years after his death, his family filed a lawsuit against the City of Anchorage

• The complaint alleged that if emergency services had been dispatched immediately after the initial 911 call was made, Lindsay would have received medical treatment for hypothermia sooner before losing consciousness and stopping breathing.

The family of an Alaskan woman who died of hypothermia in freezing temperatures has filed a wrongful death lawsuit, alleging that 911 dispatchers failed to adequately help her in a timely manner.

Alecia Ai Lindsay’s family filed a complaint with the Alaska Supreme Court on Feb. 5, accusing the city of Anchorage, its officers and the police department of negligence and liability for the events that led to her death.

According to the complaint obtained by PEOPLE, in the early morning hours of Feb. 7, 2024, Lindsay, 31, went to Ted Stevens International Airport in Anchorage but did not board her flight. He lost his vehicle at the airport and was taken home by airport police.

The complaint stated that Lindsay returned to the airport the same afternoon. At around 16:15 local time, he hailed a vehicle at the airport that would take him to the city centre. The driver of the vehicle later said he called 911 because he was concerned about the safety of Lindsay, who was standing in the middle of the road.

According to the complaint, an Anchorage police detective told Lindsay’s family that authorities contacted the woman and let her go, thinking she did not need help at that time.

The next day, around 7 a.m., Anchorage’s emergency communications center received a call from a man who said: “A woman was knocking on her door while sitting on the floor of her home, looking confused and possibly homeless, dressed all in black, not speaking, and looking ‘a little weird.'”

In response, the dispatcher told the caller that officers would be dispatched to the residence and would call back if anything changed, according to the complaint.

Around 7:30 a.m., 30 minutes after the first 911 call, the resident made a second 911 call to the emergency communications center, according to court documents. He reported that the woman, later identified as Lindsay, was crawling around the porch area and did not leave and “appeared to be on drugs or experiencing a medical emergency.”

The resident’s wife told the officer the woman was having trouble speaking, needed time to understand, appeared overwhelmed and needed help, the complaint said. His wife said he handed the woman a hand warmer and blanket and told her help was on the way.

Temperatures that day ranged from 17 to 28 degrees and there was 35 inches of snow on the ground. KTUU.

The complaint alleged that the dispatcher did not seem concerned about Lindsay’s safety after hearing the couple’s report of what was happening.

“Instead he [the dispatcher] “They asked if they knew the woman, if they had a gun, if they could stay away from her until someone came and if they could lock the door,” he said.

The officer told the resident someone would stop by and to call the emergency communications center again if Lindsay escalated the situation further, according to court records.

Around 7:47 a.m., Anchorage police officers arrived at the resident’s home. Ten minutes later, they notified EMS that Lindsay was breathing but was drifting in and out of consciousness.

“Alecia can be heard groaning in pain on body camera audio,” the complaint read.

Around 8:06 a.m., emergency responders arrived, lifted Lindsay off the cold ground, and took her to the ambulance. Six minutes later, an officer is heard saying on body camera audio that Lindsay had stopped breathing, according to court documents.

The ambulance arrived at Providence Hospital, where Lindsay died, around 8:26 a.m., the complaint said.

The complaint also stated that Lindsay was wearing only a lightweight black sweater, black jeans and black boots, which were described as “insufficient clothing for prolonged exposure outdoors” in winter conditions in Anchorage.

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Among the allegations listed in the complaint against City of Anchorage officers are “failure to recognize multiple reports of an unresponsive person lying on icy ground in freezing conditions as an emergency posing imminent risk of death or serious bodily harm due to hypothermia”; “treating the woman as a trespasser or nuisance rather than as a medically endangered, vulnerable person requiring immediate evaluation and rescue;” and “failure to communicate accurate medical risk information to responding officers.”

The complaint also alleged that if emergency services had been dispatched immediately after the initial 911 call, Lindsay could have received medical treatment for hypothermia sooner before losing consciousness and stopping breathing. He also claimed dispatchers were more concerned about callers’ safety.

“Alecia Lindsay passed away on February 8, 2024, as a direct result of hypothermia, while lying bare skin on the icy ground outdoors, unable to communicate, and unable to be rescued in time in freezing conditions despite multiple 911 calls,” the complaint states. The statement was included.

PEOPLE contacted the City of Anchorage on Tuesday, March 24, but did not immediately receive a comment. The police delayed people into the city.

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