Daniel Whitley

“At that point, it was snowing pretty heavily. We were coming down Chapman Street, getting ready to take a right onto Fairview. We nearly slid off the road, making the turn onto Fairview.”

Whitley described the driving conditions during the response to Fairview Road.

“She was very upset. She kept asking if there was any chance -- she kept asking us if we knew if the person Ambulance 1 had transported was alive or dead.”

Whitley recounted Read's reported questions and demeanor during the transport.

“Generally, we get pertinent medical history to pass on to the hospital.”

Whitley explained the purpose of collecting medical history during transport.

“She was kind of pretty distraught. She was crying. She kind of told us the statements she may have made, she didn't mean it because of the current events that she had just gone through.”

The witness described Read's condition when he first approached the vehicle for the Section 12 call.

The witness described Read as crying and distraught when he first spoke with her outside the SUV, then explained the Section 12 assessment and transport process.

“So when I ask a patient if any drugs or alcohol, I'm talking about at that point in time, but an hour before, two hours before, not days before or weeks before.”

Whitley defined the time scope of the medical-history question at issue on cross-examination.

“That wasn't my position to ask more details about that.”

Whitley identified the limit of his knowledge about the earlier interaction Read described.

“She kept asking if there was any chance her husband could be alive, even sitting outside in the snow with no coat on for many hours.”

Read's repeated focus on whether someone could survive exposure is a central prosecution theme regarding her knowledge of O'Keefe's circumstances.

“There is a saying in the medical field: 'You're not dead until you're warm and dead.' And I was basically telling her the stories of children falling through ice and falling into rivers and being underwater for multiple hours.”

Establishes the context in which Read was asking about cold exposure survival — Whitley was trying to offer hope, while Read kept pressing the question.

“She kept saying, 'I can't take care of these kids. I can't take care of these kids. They're not my kids and they're not his kids.'”

Prosecution presents Read's statements about the children as revealing her mindset about her relationship and responsibilities.

“She picked her head up and said, 'Do you know Kerry Roberts?' And I said, 'As a matter of fact, I do.' And she said, 'Anybody who knows Kerry Roberts wouldn't say that about her.'”

Read's negative reaction to Kerry Roberts is presented as notable given that Roberts had come out in the blizzard to search for O'Keefe.

“She was crying in her hands. And I said, 'You know, it looks like you have a very strong support system.' And she picked up her head — she had her face in her hands, she picked up her head out of her hands, looked at me and said, 'Do you know Kerry Roberts?' And I said, 'Matter of fact, I do.' And she said, 'Anybody who knows Kerry Roberts wouldn't say that about her.'”

The full account of the Kerry Roberts exchange that Yannetti then systematically undermines as a late-emerging characterization.

“I don't think I mentioned snarkiness that day. No.”

Whitley concedes the damaging characterization was not contemporaneously reported.

“Not in April of 2022. No.”

Whitley concedes the 'many hours' language was not in his grand jury testimony given less than three months after the events.

“Correct. It could have been a different word.”

Whitley agreed that "sitting outside" might not have been Read's exact wording and said it could have been a different word.

“She asked if he could be alive without a jacket in the snow for many hours. So again it was a question, sir.”

Whitley concedes Read's statement was a question born of distress, not a declarative admission of knowledge.

“No, not even close.”

Explains why grand jury testimony was less detailed — it was much shorter, accounting for omissions the defense highlighted.

“I remember it distinctly. She was looking at me.”

Whitley affirms a vivid memory of Read's question about surviving in the snow, reinforcing its significance despite cross-examination suggesting it was embellished.

“No, we do not write — generally we only write patient complaint, what happened, and what they did. Not their opinions or anything like that as to what's going on.”

Explains why certain conversations with Read were absent from written reports — standard EMS documentation practice excludes patient opinions.