TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Four Florida A&M University students have been dismissed for their role in the death of a Marching 100 band member.
The 911 call made after Robert Champion was found unresponsive after an Orlando band trip has been released.
The unidentified caller, who describes himself as a member of the FAMU band, says Champion threw up and was unresponsive.
The Associated Press obtained audio of the tape Thursday.
Here is a portion:
Operator: Orange County Fire and Rescue.
Caller: We are at Rosen Plaza and on I-drive, and one of my drum majors is on the bus and not breathing.
From the beginning, the panicked caller tried to get help for Champion. The band had just returned to their Orlando hotel after the Florida Classic.
Caller: We don't know if he's breathing or not, we just need to get an ambulance ASAP.
Operator: Are you with the person right now?
Caller: I'm outside the bus talking so I can hear you.
Operator: So, he's inside the bus?
Caller: Yes, he's inside the bus.
Operator: Is he awake?
Caller: He's not even...he wasn't responding. We thought he was breathing because he was making noises, but I don't even know if he was breathing now.
Operator: Okay, is he awake? Do you know?
Caller: His eyes are open, he's not responding.
Operator: But is he breathing?
Caller: I have no idea, I can not tell you that. He just threw up.
Operator: He just threw up?
Caller: Yes.
Investigators say before Champion's death, he was hazed. But the caller says they were just hanging out.
Operator: Was he like shaking or anything like that prior to this?
Caller: No, he wasn't shaking, I don't even know how...we were just sitting there and we were just talking.
The operator then instructs the caller to get on the bus.
He hands the phone off to someone else.
The dispatcher instructs that man to put Champion flat on his back.
Caller: Alright, he's flat, flat on his back.
Operator: He is? Okay, I want you to kneel next to him and I want you to look into his mouth for food or vomit.
Caller: Yes, there's vomit.
Operator: There's vomit in his mouth?
Caller: Yes.
Operator: Okay, well then I want you to turn his head to the side and I want you to clean out his mouth and his nose.
But the call was disconnected before the man could say if he was successful.
Despite the dismissal of four FAMU students, a spokeswoman with the Orange County Sheriff's Office told ABC 27 that no charges have been filed.
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - A 911 caller says a Florida A&M University band member had vomit in his mouth in the moments before he died.
Investigators have said the case is linked to hazing.
Audio of the 911 call obtained Thursday by The Associated Press indicates that Robert Champion had stopped breathing and was unresponsive at the time an unidentified man called the emergency dispatcher.
The 911 dispatcher told the man to place Champion on his back and clean any vomit from his nose and mouth. But the call was disconnected before the caller could say if he was successful.
The 26-year-old Champion was found unresponsive Nov. 19 on a bus parked outside an Orlando, Fla., hotel after the school's football team lost to a rival.
The entire 911 call is available to the right of this page, courtesy of the Associated Press.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
