Alm’s Cry for Help : Football Player Made Frantic Call to 911 Before Fatally Shooting Himself

Houston Oiler Jeff Alm made a frantic 911 call to summon help after a car crash, yelling to the operator, “I have a buddy dying!” Seconds later, the operator heard four gunshots as Alm committed suicide.

Fire department officials Wednesday released a recording of the call Alm made on his cellular phone shortly after his car crashed into a highway guardrail Dec. 14.

His best friend, Sean Lynch, died after being thrown from the car and down an embankment. A despondent Alm fired three shots in the air before turning the gun on himself.

“Sean are you all right?” Alm shouts at the beginning of the call. In the ensuing moments, he tries to tell the operator the location of the accident.

“Yes, I had an accident on, uh,” Alm said. “I had an accident on 59, uh, on 59 north. We’re at . . . 59 north. Loop, uh, 610. I have a buddy dying!”

About 25 seconds after Alm’s words, the first shot is heard. The second shot follows about 15 seconds later.

The third shot comes about 10 seconds later and the final one 10 seconds after that.

The operator repeatedly calls out to the person before finally hanging up.

Police said Tuesday a toxicology report on Lynch showed his blood alcohol content level was 0.30, three times the legal limit for drivers in Texas. Lynch was a passenger.

Toxicology reports on Alm have not been released in part because the doctor handling the case is on vacation, according to Houston homicide Sgt. Johnny Moore.

Moore said he couldn’t make any judgment whether Alm was intoxicated when he made the call and didn’t know if Alm was familiar with Houston’s highway system.