CINCINNATI, OH — At 3:21 p.m. on Tuesday, 16-year-old Kyle Jacob Plush called 911 screaming.
During the two-minute call with the 911 operator, he gasped, cried repeatedly for help and explained that he was trapped inside his car in the parking lot of Seven Hills School.
"I probably don't have much time left, so tell my mom I love her if I die," he said.
The call went dead; when the operator attempted to call back, it went to voicemail.
A deputy sent to the scene told dispatch that he couldn't find anyone trapped in a van. He said he got into an argument with a woman nearby and questioned if the call had been a prank.
But Plush was there.
Police say that around 10 p.m., a family member discovered him dead inside the van.
The death was ruled accidental by Hamilton County Coroner Lakshmi Sammarco, who wrote that the cause of death was "asphyxia caused by chest compression," meaning he was crushed to death.
Neither the coroner nor law enforcement released specification on what had pressed so hard against the teen's chest causing him to suffocate.
The information released by police Wednesday afternoon did not clarify the reason the first deputy to respond was not able to find Plush's van or how extensive that deputy's search of the area might have been. Plush's uncle, who declined to share his name or speak on camera, said Wednesday night the 911 system failed a "great kid."
Plush was a student at Seven Hills, spokeswoman Christine Hedges said Wednesday morning. The school has grief counselors on hand for any student who needs them.
