911 Transcripts Detail Natasha's Struggle to Survive

Newly released radio transcripts between paramedics and 911 dispatchers reveal Natasha Richardson's struggle to live in the crucial hours after the freak skiing accident that led to her death.

The 45-year-old actress and mother of two who died after taking a spill on a bunny slope in Quebec on March 16 appeared "disoriented. ... with signs of confusion, a  concussion" hours after the accident, the Globe and Mail of Canada reported.

Richardson fell during a ski lesson at the Mont Tremblant ski resort and an ambulance immediately rushed to the slope.

The dispatcher initially radioed in a "17-Bravo-1" and designated it a "priority three" -- lingo for a fall that is potentially dangerous and one that required medics to rush to the hill, the paper reported.

Seventeen minutes after the first 911 call the medics arrive but found no patient, according to the paper.

"Uhh, we're still waiting for the patient," the medic said at 1 p.m.

Richardson refused medical attention, the paper reported.

"There's a [ski] patroller who just went by who tells me it's a 10-3," the medic radioed back to dispatch at 1:11 p.m. The job had been cancelled.

Several hours after the actress returned to her suite, staff at the Hotel Quintessence called 911 because Richardson began complaining of  headaches. This time, the paramedics were told it was "priority 1" -- the most serious level.

"Priority 1, Mont Tremblant," the dispatcher said at 2:59 p.m. "This will be at the Hotel Quintessence Suite No. 1. For a female, 41 years old. 17-Delta-1."

The injury was classified as "dangerous."

Richardson was rushed to Centre Hospitalier Laurentien in Sainte-Agathe within 45 minutes of the 911 call and appeared "verbal" in the ambulance and was responding when spoken to but did not know where she was, the day of the week or what had happened to her, the Mail reported.

"I'm arriving with a female in her 40s ... [she's] disoriented..." the medic said to the hospital staff. "It's following ... a ski a fall that happened at noon. Soon afterward she presents signs of confusion, a concussion."

Richardson was transferred to a Montreal hospital with an escort on the highest priority level and was later taken to New York, where she died on March 18.

Contact Us