By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
CHEHALIS – An autopsy on the 94-year-old man hit by a car in Chehalis earlier this week showed he died from probable cardiac arrhythmia due to heart disease and COPD, but the trauma and shock from the accident sped up his death, according to the Lewis County coroner.
[1]George Benton
George Benton, a retired Chehalis firefighter, was in a crosswalk on South Market Boulevard riding his power wheelchair when he was struck by a 1990s Buick passenger car on Monday evening, according to police.
Chehalis police reopened the accident investigation following Wednesday’s death.
Benton was taken to Providence Centralia Hospital with an injury to one side of his chest, a broken ankle and a cut to his ear. Police said the injuries seemed minor at the time. He didn’t even want to go to the hospital, but was talked into it, according to Chehalis Deputy Police Chief Randy Kaut.
He was transported later that night to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle to get his ear repaired and back home by Tuesday night. He died Wednesday morning at the adult family home where he lived.
Benton was a widower who resided on Southwest 12th Street but still owned his house on Southeast Washington Avenue where he spent time “puttering” in his shop or yard, according to his caregiver Leah Jensen. Each are about a block from where he was hit.
Lewis County Coroner Warren McLeod said he is listing the manner of death as accidental.
Specifically, McLeod said the findings were probable arrhythmia [2]due to arteriosclerotic [3] and hypertensive [4] cardiovascular disease [5] and COPD [6], with other significant conditions being blunt force trauma to one ear, the side of his chest and his right leg.
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For background, read “Elderly Chehalis man struck in crosswalk dies” from Thursday December 6, 2012, here [7]