(DETROIT, MI) - A 5-year-old boy called 911 to report that his mother had collapsed in their apartment, but an operator told him he should not be playing on the phone, and she died before help arrived.

The family of Sherrill Turner, 46, does not know whether a swifter response could have saved her life, but relatives want to know why the operator apparently treated the call as if it were a prank.

Police said the 911 response was under investigation.

Turner's son, Robert, placed two calls to 911 after his mother collapsed Feb. 20 on the kitchen floor. During one of the calls, an operator said: "You shouldn't be playing on the phone."

In a tape of the call, parts of which were broadcast by Detroit-area television stations, the operator said: "Now put her on the phone before I send the police out there to knock on the door and you gonna be in trouble."

In an audio of the tape played on TV, some of what the boy says is unintelligible.

Delaina Patterson, the eldest of Turner's 10 children, said police did not arrive until three hours later. She said only Robert and his mother were home at the time.

Detroit police spokesman James Tate said it was at least an hour before authorities arrived, but he said he did not have details. By that time, the boy's mother had died, he said.

"The operator may have believed he was playing on the phone," Tate said.

The 911 operator remains on the job amid the investigation.

Oh. My. God.

I thought when you call 911 they automatically trace the call to the address? This is fucking stupid and absolutely ridiculous. God Dammit, why is Detroit so fucked up?

Sure, they gave us the Ford GT... but COME ON!

Actually, that was Dearborn, Michigan. Detroit gave us Eminem.

Detroit gave ME Ted Nugent. Detroit gave YOU Eminem.

The operator should be in jail.

Why would you toy with an essential life service such as the 911 operator?

Why would you toy with an essential life service such as the 911 operator?

I was like 8 years old

Wow, you guys are bad kids.

and I vowed to myself that I will own it one day.

that's priceless, clark. hatred of corvettes and mustangs was instilled into me at a very young age, so, i never had any lust for american cars.

911 Operators don't always know the name and address people are calling from these days. Quite a few people are moving to cell phones instead of a landline phone and most cellphones just call to their customer service who will then transfer them to the nearest 911 call center. Ive actually called 911 before and it transfered me to the next county, then they had to transfer me back to the county I was in.

The operator should be in jail.

In my community... every 911 call is investigated. We do have the 911 hangups, a cruiser is sent to investigate.

Three weeks ago , we had a 911 call with no response. A cruiser was sent, and by looking in the window, they found a man down on the floor. He called for Fire and EMS to respond.

It turned out he guy had passed out from a diabetic reaction. The guys on the Engine company had to force entry, and it saved the guys life, as his blood sugar level was so low it wouldn't register on the glucoase meter.

If King Kwame hadn't decimated the ranks of the Detroit PD, they could have answered the call sooner.

PS: the dispacthed shoud be terminated.