'I am going to die here': Ohio teen Kyle Plush crushed to death in minivan despite making multiple 911 calls
A 16-year-old boy was found dead — trapped by a folding seat in his minivan — by his father on Tuesday night. The teenager was located after more than six hours after he made two 911 calls for help from his school's parking lot, according to reports.
An investigation into the incident has been launched by the Hamilton County Prosecutor, Joseph Deters, to determine why the emergency dispatch system could not reach Kyle Plush despite the phone calls. Reports state that the dispatcher, who received Plush's second call, has been placed on an administrative leave as she did not convey the information to the responding officers.
Plush became trapped in the minivan when he was leaning towards the back of the 2002 Honda Odyssey. He was reportedly trying to retrieve his tennis equipment when the third-row seat of the vehicle collapsed on top of him, sources told the Cincinnati Enquirer on Thursday.
Reports state that Plush was flipped into the floor of the cargo area and was pinned upside down with the seat lodged on top of him, compressing his chest, making it difficult for him to breathe.
Plush, a student of the Seven Hills School, called 911 at around 3 pm. He told the emergency operator that he was trapped inside his gold Honda Odyssey and also gave the precise location of where the car was parked.
The teenager reportedly cried for help and struggled to convey his exact state and position because he could not hear the emergency operator. Reports state that the phone seemed to be far away from Plush's body and he apparently made use of the Siri function to call 911. Since the phone was far away from him, the operator had a hard time understanding what the boy was saying.
"I probably don't have much time left, so tell my mom that I love her if I die," Plush told the emergency operator during the phone call.
The dispatcher reportedly sent a police officer to the scene, however, the officer could not find anyone stuck in a van despite searching the parking lot. The officer also tried to call the boy but it went to voicemail.He reportedly told the officer that the phone call could have been a prank call.
After a while, the boy tried calling 911 again and appeared to be out of breath. Sounds of loud banging and heavy breathing could be heard. "This is not a joke. I am trapped inside a gold Honda Odyssey van in the parking lot of Seven Hills. ... Send officers immediately. I'm almost dead," the boy told the emergency operator.
The officers searched the school parking lot again, however, they could not find anyone trapped in a van. It was later revealed that he was trapped in the school's overflow parking lot, which was across the street from the main parking lot. The officers did not search that particular section, according to reports.
Plush's mother, Jill, later called the police when he did not come from school. She did not call earlier because she thought he was at a tennis match.
The teenager was later found, at around 9 pm, by his father and in the third-row bench seat, trapped. Paramedics were rushed to the scene of the incident where they pronounced him dead.
A Seven Hills School spokesperson said: "He was a young man of keen intelligence, good humor, and great courage, and this whole community feels this loss very deeply."