Penn State frat 911 call: 'We have a friend who's unconscious'

ByMARK SCOLFORO AP logo
Tuesday, May 9, 2017
Penn State frat 911 call: 'We have a friend who's unconscious'
Penn State frat 911 call: 'We have a friend who's unconscious.' Annie McCormick reports during Action News at 11 p.m. on May 8, 2017.

HARRISBURG, Pa. -- A Penn State University fraternity member calling 911 for help in a case that has led to charges against 18 students following an alcohol-fueled party calmly told a dispatcher "we have a friend who's unconscious."

The call from Beta Theta Pi member Ryan McCann wasn't made for nearly 12 hours after Timothy Piazza fell face-first down a basement stairway Feb. 2. Piazza died two days later. He was from Lebanon, New Jersey.

Eight of the charged frat brothers are accused of involuntary manslaughter.

A recording of the 911 call was made public Monday. On it, McCann tells the dispatcher his 19-year-old friend was breathing but hadn't moved and was "probably going to need an ambulance." He acknowledges alcohol was involved.

Surveillance video showed Piazza falling multiple times at the alcohol-fueled pledge acceptance party. Piazza died of a traumatic brain injury.

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