U.S. Sens. Angus King and Susan Collins of Maine are asking for an update on plans to improve the country’s emergency 911 calling system.

In a letter to Assistant Commerce Secretary Lawrence E. Strickling, Maine’s two senators, joined by Sen. Bob Casey Jr., D-Pa., said a failure to modernize the emergency calling system could have played a role in the unsolved murder of Timothy Davison, 28, of Poland.

On Jan. 4, Davison called 911 while driving in Maryland, saying he was being chased and fired at by another driver. His call was dropped when he crossed the state line into Pennsylvania. He then called 911 again and got a Pennsylvania dispatcher who was unfamiliar with the situation. Moments later, Davison’s car was forced off the road and Davison was shot as he sat in his car in the highway median.

Davis would have turned 29 Saturday.

King, an independent, and Collins, a Republican, said modern technology can improve the system and enhance communications between 911 centers.

In 2008, Congress ordered the E-911 Implementation Coordinating Office to design a plan to move to a modernized system and report on costs and specifications.

The letter to Strickling, who works for the Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration, asks for an update on the progress toward completing that report and forwarding it to Congress.

Edward D. Murphy can be contacted at 791-6465 or at:

emurphy@pressherald.com

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