According to the Globe and Mail, paramedics first arrived at the ski resort where Richardson had fallen at 1 p.m. At 1:11 p.m. the medics reported that Richardson had declined treatment. She walked back to her room with her ski instructor, where she later began experiencing a severe headache and 911 was called again later that afternoon at 2:59 p.m.
While Richardson was en route to the hospital, the Globe and Mail reports that just before 4 p.m. she was "verbal" according to paramedics. At the time she registered a 12 of 15 on the Glasgow coma scale, which is not ideal but still treatable, according to the newspaper. However, she only scored a 0 on an orientation reading, meaning that she was unaware of the date, where she was, or what had happened.
After arriving at the local hospital, Richardson was taken to a Montreal trauma center, arriving at 6:38 p.m. The renowned stage and screen actress would pass away two days later after being taken home to New York.
911 Transcripts Reveal Natasha Richardson's Struggle to SurviveFrom People:
In tapes of the 911 call obtained by Canada's
Globe and Mail, the actress's condition initially appeared mild.
"10-17," the medic says at 1 p.m. on March 16, meaning he has arrived after a call to the 911 dispatch center near Mirabel, Quebec, in response to Richardson's fall at the Mont Tremblant ski resort. "Uhh, we're still waiting for the patient."
Richardson, who was then feeling lucid, had declined treatment.
"There's a patroller who just went by, who tells me it's a 10-3," the medic reports to dispatch at 1:11 p.m. In ambulance code, 10-3 indicates the job is cancelled.
But as mid-afternoon approached, Richardson began to experience severe headaches and the dispatch received another emergency call from the hotel, this time with the code "17-Delta-1," which indicates the situation is now classified as "dangerous."
Within 45 minutes, the medics had rushed Richardson into the ambulance and were headed to the Centre Hospitalier Laurentien in Sainte-Agathe, a local hospital.
Racing toward the hospital just before 4 p.m., the medic says the patient is "verbal," meaning she responds when spoken to but otherwise drifts off. But according to the
Globe and Mail, her orientation rating was 0, indicating she didn't know where she was, the day of the week, or what had happened to her – all signs of a potentially life-threatening brain injury.
Richardson died as a result of her injury on March 18 at age 45.