SANTAQUIN, Utah County — Child TV star Gary Coleman's ex-wife was panicked and distraught as she told a 911 dispatcher that Coleman had fallen and was bleeding from the back of his head, according to a recording of her 911 call released Wednesday.
During the May 26 call, Shannon Price tells dispatchers that Coleman, who she called her husband, was downstairs making food when she heard a loud bang and found him bleeding on the floor.
Coleman 911 call
Coleman, 42, was taken to Utah Valley Regional Medical Center, where he died last Friday after being removed from life support. Hospital officials said the official cause of death was an intracranial hemorrhage.
A UVRMC statement released late Wednesday with Price's permission said Coleman had previously completed an advance health care directive granting Price permission to make medical decisions on his behalf if he was unable to do so. The statement said such directives remain in effect regardless of the patient's marital status unless modified by the patient. The hospital statement confirmed the document was in effect at the time of Coleman's death. The statement said no further information would be released.
Coleman's lawyer, Randy Kester, said the actor and Price were divorced in August 2008, about a year after they were married. He said he did not know who made the decision to end life support.
Utah divorce decree documents obtained by The Associated Press list only a John Doe and Jane Doe as parties, but the last page lists Price's name and address, saying a copy of the decree was mailed to her. The decree is dated Aug. 12, 2008. The couple wed in August 2007 after meeting on the set of the 2006 movie "Church Ball."
Price was panting and out of breath as she described what she saw to dispatchers: She heard a bang and then found Coleman lying on the floor covered in blood, with a wound on the back of his head. He was lethargic and "bubbling at the mouth," Price said.
"His head is bloody. There's blood all over the floor. I don't know what happened," she told dispatchers. "Send someone quick because I don't even know if he's, like, gonna be alive, because there's a lot of blood on the floor."
Price said she couldn't help Coleman or drive him to a hospital because she suffered from seizures.
Almost two minutes into the 911 call, Coleman regained consciousness and was heard mumbling in the background. Price ordered him to sit down while she looked for a towel to put to his bleeding head. At one point, Coleman asked Price what sounded like, "What's wrong?"
Price was frantic with dispatchers, asking them repeatedly when emergency services would arrive.
"I just don't want him to die," she said. "I'm freaking out like really bad."
Santaquin Police Chief Dennis Hammond said Coleman had a dialysis treatment that day. It's unclear whether that may have been related to Coleman's fall.
Coleman's short stature of 4-foot-8 stemmed from kidney problems, which required at least two transplants earlier in his life and dialysis. Last fall, he had heart surgery complicated by pneumonia, Kester said. In February, he suffered a seizure on the set of "The Insider."
Coleman was conscious at the hospital on May 26 but slipped into unconsciousness a day later and was taken off life support Friday with family at his side.
A Santaquin police report released Wednesday largely reflects what Price says in the call. The report says an officer who arrived at the house asked Coleman if he could say what happened.
"He looked at me and stated that he could not remember," the report says.
The officer wrote that Coleman had a laceration in the back of his head 1 to 1¼ inches long.
"While waiting for medical personnel, I could tell that Mr. Coleman was weak," the report says.
While waiting for medical crews to arrive, the officer looked around the kitchen for any areas of possible impact besides the tile floor and couldn't find blood anywhere else, the report said.
Kester said neither party gave a reason when the couple divorced in 2008. Price did not hire a lawyer, and she and Coleman continued to live together.
"They came to me and said, 'This is a joint decision we made,' and I drew up the agreement," Kester said.
The contents of the divorce case were sealed, but Kester said that is not unusual.
"Many people like to protect their privacy in such cases," he said.
In 2008, Coleman and Price appeared on the TV show "Divorce Court." At the time, it was reported that the couple did not end up getting divorced.
Kester said officials have returned Coleman's body to a mortuary after inspection.
Kester, who has represented Coleman in several legal actions in Utah, said he has not seen any will or similar document.
Coleman's parents, from whom he reportedly was estranged, have hired local lawyers to determine who Coleman's heirs may be, Kester said.
Contributing: The Associated Press. E-mail: ashaha@desnews.com, jsmith@desnews.com