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Autistic boy dies while being restained by attendants
Posted
3-21-2000 San Antonio. A 14-year-old autistic boy died in a San Antonio mental hospital March 4 after being restrained by hospital workers, the city’s second death in a month in which a child patient died while being restrained. Fred Hines, CEO of Southwest Mental Health Center, said psychiatric attendants were attempting to restrain patient Willie Wright so he could be sedated at the request of two physicians. After holding Wright on his side for about 15 minutes, Hines said, Wright stopped struggling and workers noticed he was no longer breathing. They administered CPR, but neither the workers nor an emergency crew could revive him. Wright’s death is being investigated by the Bexar County medical examiner’s office, with a final report pending toxicology and microscopic analysis, said Katherine Diana, spokeswoman for the office. A final report is expected in about two weeks, she said. Hines described Wright as "intermittently explosive" and said no charges or disciplinary action would be taken against the workers. "Police found nothing they were concerned about and Texas Department of Health officials said they didn’t see anything wrong with how the situation was handled. It’s just one of those real unfortunate incidents," Hines said. Hines said all the employees involved had undergone training on proper restraint techniques within the last six months. Wright’s death is the first incident of its kind in the center’s 114-year history, Hines said. Wright’s death occurred about one month after a similar incident at the Laurel Ridge Hospital, also in San Antonio. Randy Steele, 9, died of a heart attack brought on by "excited delirium" while being restrained, according to the Bexar County medical examiner. The autopsy revealed that Steele had an enlarged heart that contributed to the attack. Police did not file charges in the Laurel Ridge case, said Donna Burtanger, spokeswoman for the hospital.
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