‘He Had One Job to Do!’: Charges Dropped for Pennsylvania 911 Dispatcher Who Refused to Send Ambulance for a Bleeding, Dying Woman Due to Lack of Consent

Prosecutors in Waynesburg, Pennsylvania, have dropped criminal charges against a 911 dispatcher accused of refusing to send help to a woman who died in her daughter’s arms during a medical emergency four years ago.

Leon Price previously faced charges of involuntary manslaughter and reckless endangerment in the July 2, 2020, death of Diana Kronk, but Greene County District Attorney Brianna Vanata dismissed the criminal case on June 4 after it was originally filed by former district attorney Dave Russo.

Kronk’s daughter, Kelly Titchenell, said she remains frustrated after Vanata told her she did not have the evidence to convict Price.

“I feel definitely angry,” Titchenell said, according to CBS News. “He had one job to do, and that was to call an ambulance.”

The case stems from a 911 call in July 2020, where Titchenell told the Greene County dispatcher that her mother was having a serious medical emergency and needed help.

Titchenell told Price the woman passed out, was bleeding, and looked jaundiced — saying her condition was deteriorating fast.

But instead of sending an ambulance right away, Price said his hands were tied because he didn’t have the mother’s consent, which seemed unreasonable to Titchenell because her mother was incapacitated.

Hours went by, but no help arrived. Kronk never made it to the hospital and died the next day at home from internal bleeding.

She was 54.

The case remained unresolved for almost two years until Titchenell took action by filing a federal lawsuit against Price and Greene County on June 16, 2022. Shortly thereafter, less than two weeks later, Russo made the decision to charge Price with involuntary manslaughter.

Russo also charged three other Greene County emergency officials, including Gregory Leathers, Richard Policz and Robert Rhodes — but these cases were also dismissed in 2023.

The initial investigation by then-Greene County Regional Police Chief Zachary Sams cited a miscommunication between Titchenell and Price, who was reportedly waiting for Titchenell to call back to “confirm” her mother’s willingness to receive medical assistance.

“It appears that he has not been properly trained in the duties and actions of his position,” Sams wrote in the memo, which is included in the case files, according to the Observer-Reporter. “Due to these facts, I do not believe that the actions, or inactions, of the dispatcher Leon Price rise to the levels necessary to facilitate a criminal charge. Involuntary manslaughter holds a level of gross negligence in order to be found guilty, and I do not believe it exists in this case. I will be recommending to District Attorney David Russo that the case be closed without prosecution unless further details arise at a later date.”

Previously, the judge dropped the lesser charges against Price but decided to move forward with the more serious counts of involuntary manslaughter and reckless endangerment.

The Kronk family has also filed a civil lawsuit against Greene County, Price, Policz and Leathers in federal court.

Price’s attorney, meanwhile, issued a statement to KDKA-TV, praising Vanata for dropping the case.

“Though we understand that the Commonwealth withdrew the charges against Mr. Price, we were confident that he would have been acquitted by a jury of his peers,” he said. “We appreciate District Attorney Vanata reviewing the file and recognizing that Mr. Price’s alleged actions did not necessitate criminal charges.”

Previously, Vanata discussed a potential plea deal for Price with the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office, but the strategy failed, and all the charges were dropped.

Price remains on the job, while Titchenell said she was still agonizing over her mother’s death and was deeply disappointed that the charges against Price were dismissed.

“You are going to have to live with this the rest of your life,” she said about Price. “My mother would be alive if you would have sent an ambulance to that house.”

“You have destroyed my life,” she added. “Every day I suffer without my mom, and I hope you don’t ever forget that.”

‘He Had One Job to Do!’: Charges Dropped for Pennsylvania 911 Dispatcher Who Refused to Send Ambulance for a Bleeding, Dying Woman Due to Lack of Consent