KEY LARGO, Florida (19 Mar 2007) -- The three New Jersey scuba divers who died last week while exploring a wreck off Key Largo drowned, according to autopsies completed Monday. Monroe County Medical Examiner's Office chief investigator Michael Bates said "saltwater drowning" was the preliminary cause of death for Jonathan Walsweer, 38, and Scott Stanley, 55, of Westfield, N.J.; and Kevin Coughlin, 51, of Chatham Borough, N.J. The three men ran out of air during a 135-foot dive inside the USS Spiegel Grove on Friday, investigators said. A fourth diver, Howard Spialter, 52, also of Westfield, survived. According to information he gave investigators, the other three might have survived if they had followed his path out of the wreck, but they chose a different direction. Spialter told investigators with the Monroe County Sheriff's Office that the four men, all experienced divers, got lost inside the wreck. Besides Spialter, another diver eventually managed to escape, but died later. Expert divers who recovered the two remaining bodies Saturday said the divers were in a tough spot, about 90 feet from the nearest exit. That section of the wreck was supposed to be off-limits. Spialter said as he ran low on air, he tried unsuccessfully to lead the others in a particular direction, according to Sheriff's Detective Mark Coleman. "He went one way and they went the other," Coleman said in a statement. "He lived because he went the right way and got out." At one point, Coughlin also figured out how to escape the maze-like ship and was able to surface. He died soon afterward at Mariner's Hospital in Tavernier. "We don't know what happened with him," Coleman said in the statement. "Either he ran out of air before he got out, or he may have embolized in a section of the wreck where there is a long, steep ascent on the way out. We just don't know ... we may never know the whole story." A diver is said to embolize when gas bubbles enter the bloodstream, causing potentially serious blockages. Stanley's wife, Marianne, said Spialter told her that her husband broke away from him and swam toward the other two divers. | | "I don't know if they were distressed; I don't know what was going on," she said. "Anything could have happened, because once the silt builds up in the boat, you can't see." Six people have died while diving the Spiegel Grove, a 1960s-era warship sunk off the Upper Keys in 2002 to create an artificial reef. Coleman has said Spialter acknowledged he and his friends had not properly prepared for the dive. Among the mistakes Coleman said the men made: They lacked a dive plan, did not use a safety line to exit the wreck, did not take enough air tanks with them and did not properly distribute tanks along their path in the wreck. Spialter could not be reached for comment Monday. SCUBA FORUMDISCUSS THIS TOPIC - Dive in and have your say at Scuba ForumCDNN Related NewsFLORIDA - Survivor tells police about Spiegel Grove scuba diving tragedyFLORIDA - 'Experienced' Spiegel Grove divers made stupid, deadly errorsFLORIDA - Bodies of dead Spiegel Grove divers recoveredFLORIDA - Three divers dead in Spiegel Grove wreck diving accidentFLORIDA - Scuba diver dies after ascending from Spiegel GroveFLORIDA - Leading kidney specialist dies in Spiegel Grove scuba accident |
