A teen who was working at a New Orleans McDonald’s was robbed at gunpoint last month and then was forced into the restaurant’s freezer.
When she was finally able to call 911 for help, she got the one person whom she probably needed to talk to at the time — her mother, who is an assistant operations manager, CNN reported.
Teri Clark knew immediately who she was talking to since her daughter’s phone number appeared on the center’s caller identification. Clark told The Washington Post, “I was seeing her number pop up, and in my mind, I’m like, ‘What’s she calling for?’”
Tinia Hill told her mother, “Mama, please hurry up, she’s got a gun,” WDSU reported.
Clark told her daughter, “We are going to hurry, give me a description.”
It was fortunate that Hill reached her mother during her time of need as Clark was supposed to be off work, but stayed late to help staff, The Washington Post reported.
At one point, Clark said she broke down in tears while trying to handle the situation.
“Where it broke me down was when my child said, ‘We are in the freezer,’” Clark told WDSU. “While I was taking the call tears were coming down my face. I am still trying to do my job, and I did the job to the best of my ability.”
Clark has been on the job for 24 years and told the station that it was the first time she ever got a call from a family member.
When asked about the incident and how well Clark handled it, Tyrell Morris, executive director of the communication district, told CNN, “Teri Clark is a shining example of what our 911 heroes in New Orleans and across the nation do every day. We answer each and every call with passion, purpose and professionalism, even when it is our own family.”
Hill had started the job a week before the armed robbery. She said it was her first “real” job, outside of being a summer camp counselor. She started working at her mother’s urging, to set a goal and work toward it. That goal was to pay for driving school, the Post reported.
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