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Atlas Fraley, 17, died following a high school football scrimmage in his home on Aug. 12, 2008. Fraley, a student at Chapel Hill High School, had complained of muscle cramps and headache during and after the scrimmage.
Fraley called Orange County EMS at 1:45 p.m. after returning home and asked for intravenous fluids to treat his self-diagnosed dehydration. James Griffin, the paramedic who came to Fraley’s house in response to his call, told him to hydrate and work out his muscle cramps. When Fraley’s parents came home that evening, they found their son dead on the floor surrounded by bottles of water and Gatorade.
Then-N.C. Chief Medical Examiner Dr. John Butts, who presided over the case, raised the possibility of cardiac arrest or asthma attack as causes of death. Griffin, resigned 15 days after the athlete’s death. The case prompted a review of EMS.
After 18 months of unanswered questions about their son’s death, a high school student’s family is taking legal action.
Malinda and David Fraley are suing former Orange County paramedic James Griffin, county emergency medical services and Orange County itself for wrongful death by negligence.
Orange County Emergency Medical Services' response time has been getting progressively worse since 2000.
When the parents of Atlas Fraley found their son dead on the floor of their home Aug. 12, they had no idea that Orange County Emergency Medical Services had been there hours earlier.
Correction: Due to a reporting error, this story states that Atlas Fraley was hospitalized last year for dehydration. Atlas was not hospitalized, he was treated by EMS at home.
Several fail-safes were unable to prevent the death of a Chapel Hill High School student Tuesday.
Atlas Fraley, 17, had a physical completed two weeks before.
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