No criminal charges will be filed in the case of a 16-year-old boy who died trapped in his van after making multiple calls to 911 for help, prosecutors said.
Kyle Plush, of Cincinnati, Ohio, died in April from asphyxia due to chest compression while he was trapped in the third row bench seat of his Honda Odyssey in his school parking lot.
Following a thorough review, “no criminal charges are appropriate and, therefore, none will be filed,” Hamilton County Prosecutor Joseph Deters said in a statement Thursday.
“I want to thank the city of Cincinnati for their cooperation in this investigation and credit them with taking necessary steps to improve the 911 system so that something like this will, hopefully, never happen again,” Deters said.
The city launched a new Smart911 system in July. City officials also said they would be making improvements in areas including police in-car mapping and 911 dispatcher training.
Deters added Thursday, “My sympathy goes out to the Plush family on the loss of Kyle. It is impossible to imagine the pain that they must feel over his untimely death.”
Plush’s family reacted to the announcement Thursday.
“Kyle was unforgettable and his zest for life is what continues to drive us in our efforts to improve the 911 system locally and across the country,” his father, Ron Plush, said Thursday.
In a harrowing call to 911 in April, Plush said, “Help! I’m stuck in my van. … I need help!”
But Plush could not hear the dispatcher, police said.
An operator repeatedly asked Plush where he was. The teen said several times he was at “Seven Hills,” which is the name of the Cincinnati school he attended.
The terrified teen is heard screaming and later said on the call, “I’m in desperate need of help!”
The call disconnected, and dispatchers tried to call Plush back but reached his voicemail, police said at the time.
Officers responded to the area and tried to find the car but couldn’t, police said at the time.
In another call to 911, Plush said, “I probably don’t have much time left. Tell my mom I love her if I die.”
“This is not a joke,” Plush said. “I’m trapped inside my gold Honda Odyssey van in the … parking lot of Seven Hills.”
But Plush again said he couldn’t hear the dispatcher.
The dispatcher and Plush didn’t communicate and the information wasn’t relayed to the officers who were still at the scene, police said.
“Send officers immediately. I’m almost dead,” Plush said.
A 911 operator involved was temporarily placed on administrative leave following the death.
ABC News’ Rachel Katz and Brendan Rand contributed to this report.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
