PROVO — A 30-year-old Provo man died in October after city 911 dispatchers sent an ambulance to a wrong address.

Scott Aston's family is seeking $500,000 in damages from the city for the mistake, according to the family. Paramedics never found him, and he lay dead in his apartment for as many as three days.

The city punished two dispatchers and changed dispatch protocols after an investigation handled by an outside police agency, Provo spokeswoman Raylene Ireland said.

Ireland said city officials released information about Aston's death and a subsequent investigation conducted by the Ogden Police Department at a press conference Monday after city and police officials learned the Deseret Morning News had started making inquiries about Aston's death and the city's response to his emergency call for help.

Provo dispatchers now ask more detailed questions, including the name of any apartment building and the caller's phone number, Provo Police Capt. Dave Bolda said.

The tragedy underscored the need for an enhanced 911 program that would provide dispatchers with more information about the locations of calls made from cell phones. Aston used a cell phone to call 911 and, like all cell phone calls that go to dispatchers in Utah, no address appeared on Provo dispatch's display screen.

Cell phone calls now make up more than half of calls to dispatchers, so better technology is needed to identify the caller, Bolda said. The Utah 911 commission is working toward an enhanced 911 program, but it isn't yet in effect in Utah.

New software would show an area or location grid on dispatchers' and police officers' computer screens but not an exact address, according to dispatchers.

It's unclear whether the technology would have saved Aston.

He called 911 on Oct. 1, complaining he was ill and struggling for breath, and asked for an ambulance.

"The caller says he can't breathe, that he's home alone and that he's dying," according to information provided by the city.

The dispatcher thought he heard Aston say his address was 950 N. 500 West. But that address does not exist.

Instead, Aston lived at 915 N. 500 West.

Neither the dispatcher nor the caller seemed aware of the miscommunication, Ireland said. Aston agreed to stay on the line until paramedics arrived but reported his condition was worsening. Then the line went dead.

Dispatchers attempted to call him back but received a message saying Aston's mailbox was full, Ireland said.