EXCLUSIVE: Todd Bridges Relives Gary Coleman's Desperate 911 Call: 'I Wish Ex-Wife Helped'
June 9 2010, Published 9:58 a.m. ET
Gary Coleman’s Diff’rent Strokes co-star and longtime confidante Todd Bridges has relived the chilling 911 call the actor's ex-wife made in which she stood by helplessly because the sight of blood made her feel squeamish.
AUDIO: Hear Gary Coleman's 911 Tape
“If someone you love is down there going through that, how are you not helping them out?" an anguished Bridges exclusively told RadarOnline.com, as he listened to the recording.
In it, a distressed Shannon Price can be heard telling the call handler there is "blood everywhere" as her husband moans in the background.
Said Bridges: “I can’t answer for her, but I know that I would have (helped).”
The 45-year-old, who played older brother Willis to Coleman's Arnold on the hit television series, has become a vocal critic of Price, who has weathered a storm of controversy over her handling of Coleman's death.
Bridges was visibly angry as Price described a "gory" gash on the back of Coleman's head.
“I know if I had been in that situation I would have definitely covered his wound up and probably held him until the ambulance got there," Bridges said. "That’s what I would have done.
“I just wish that she had done something... I wish that she had gone in there, held his hand and just got through it.”
The former Diff'rent Strokes child star died two weeks ago of a brain hemorrhage after being taken off life support at a Utah hospital. He was 42.
His wife was at his side and pulled the plug on his life support. In her 911 call, Price told the operator: "My husband just got home. I heard a big bang. I went down, there's blood everywhere."
Although Coleman was still conscious at that point, his wife said the 4ft 8in star was "out of it." The call handler urged Price to press the wound with a towel to stem the blood flow. However, she said she felt unable to touch it.
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“That’s what I don’t understand,” Bridges said. “If I saw you in a pool of blood, I would probably help you out... I do know that if I had been in that situation, I would have definitely covered his wound up and probably held him until the ambulance got there.
“You have got to take it for granted that she is 24, maybe she panicked. But everybody is not made to be a hero."
