Samantha Woodward, a civilian 911 call taker with the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office, died after suffering a medical emergency while on duty at the county dispatch center early Wednesday. Coworkers later found Woodward unresponsive in a restroom at the facility and rushed her to North Central Baptist Hospital. Hospital officials ultimately confirmed she had no brain activity, and her family chose to proceed with organ donation. She is survived by two teenage sons.
Officials say the episode was medical
According to News4SanAntonio, the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office indicated early on that Woodward was not expected to survive and said the incident was tied to a medical condition. The outlet reported that colleagues remembered her as a steady, reassuring voice who guided callers through crises, and that coworkers and family are still grappling with the sudden loss.
Where it happened
The county’s emergency calls run through Bexar Metro 911, with the regional operations building that houses the communications center located at 8130 Inner Circle in northwest San Antonio. Bexar County describes the facility as the central hub that routes emergency calls for police, fire and EMS across multiple jurisdictions.
The toll of the job
Emergency call takers regularly confront traumatic situations from the other end of the line, and that exposure can carry a steep mental health cost. A 2025 scoping review in Health & Justice, along with an AHRQ review of EMS and 911 workforce mental health, documents high rates of burnout, secondary traumatic stress and other risks among telecommunicators.
Colleagues remember Woodward's service
Co-workers told News4SanAntonio that Woodward devoted her career to talking people through some of their worst moments. They said her two teenage sons are "extremely upset" as the family manages funeral arrangements and follows through on the decision to donate her organs in her memory.
County recruitment and next steps
Bexar County promotes outreach such as its "Be a Headset Hero" recruitment campaign for fire-dispatch and other communications roles, highlighting how crucial those positions are to daily public safety operations. Bexar County officials have not announced any additional operational changes tied to Woodward’s death as of the latest reports.
