A Pennsylvania 911 operator, Leon “Lee” Price, was charged with manslaughter due to the death of Diania Kronk for refusing to send an ambulance while bleeding to death.
An emergency 911 call was placed by Diania Kronk, 54, of Carmichaels, a rural area of western Pennsylvania, she was dying of internal bleeding at the time, and the 911 operator, Leon “Lee” Price, 50, of Waynesburg, refused to send an ambulance to aid her at her home, in July 2020. Even though the daughter, Kelly Titchenell, 38, Mather, PA, was requesting an ambulance to come to their home. The ambulance was not dispatched to her home at any point, even though three were available.
“I believe she would be alive today if they would have sent an ambulance,” said Titchenell
According to a legal filing, the 911 operator Price asked Titchenell numerous times if her mother would be “willing to go” to the hospital.
“She will be, ’cause I’m on my way there, so she’s going, or she’s going to die,” said Kelly Titchenell on the 911 recording.
The recording showed Price initially requested an ambulance to be sent to her residence. He then asked several more times if the woman would be willing to go to the hospital, according to Adams county Daily Voice.
“We really need to make sure she’s willing to go,” said Price.
“She’s going to go, she’s going to go,” Titchenell repeated. “Cause if not, she’s going to die, there’s nothing else.”
“According to the investigation, she was denied medical services when all three ambulances were available for dispatch,” District Attorney Dave Russo says.
“The investigation is being expanded to 911 management to see if this was a result of a potential unwritten 911 management policy in Greene County. No one should be denied emergency services in Greene County or anywhere else. Everyone should have equal protection and access to medical treatment”, stated District Attorney Russo.
Diania Kronk had multiple hobbies she enjoyed, such as cooking, dancing, and watching the Steelers football games, according to her obituary.
She is “survived by her three children, Kelly Titchenell of Mather, and Robert and Tyler Kronk, both of Carmichaels; five grandchildren, Kelystah, Marymae and Shawn Martisko, Karson and Kayden Kronk; a sister, Nola Smith of Marianna, and brother Harold Kerley (Kim) of Orofino, Idaho; several nieces, nephews, and cousins,” her obituary states.
According to court records, Price was released on $15,000 bail. His preliminary hearing is scheduled with Magisterial District Judge D. Gleann Bates at 9:30 a.m. on July 13.
