LOWER NAZARETH TOWNSHIP, (September 29, 2003) -- A 21-year-old Connecticut woman drowned Saturday while scuba diving at a quarry lake off Hanoverville Road, the Lehigh County coroner's office said Sunday. Casey Parent of Coventry, Conn., was diving with a group of friends about 7:57 p.m. at Dutch Springs when she was stricken, Lehigh County Chief Deputy Coroner Paul Zondlo said. Parent was pronounced dead an hour later at Lehigh Valley Hospital-Muhlenberg, Zondlo said. Colonial Regional Police said three of Parent's friends suffered minor respiratory distress while trying to rescue her. The three, who were all from Connecticut, were treated and released, police said. Stuart Schooley, owner of Dutch Springs, declined to comment Sunday. An autopsy revealed Parent drowned, probably due to an embolism, Zondlo said. A gas embolism, also called an air embolism, can occur with decompression from increased pressure, typically striking ascending divers who have been breathing compressed air, according to the Web site HealthAtoZ.com. If the diver does not fully exhale upon ascent, the air in the lungs expands as the pressure decreases, over inflating the lungs and forcing bubbles of gas, or emboli, into the bloodstream. When gas emboli reach the arteries to the brain, the blood blockage causes unconsciousness. A gas embolism is second only to drowning as a cause of death among divers, the Web site says. | | A gas embolism occurs independent of diving depth and can affect divers in as little as 6 feet of water. It most often occurs when divers hold their breath during ascent. It may also result from an airway obstruction or other conditions that prevent a diver from fully exhaling. The primary sign of a gas embolism is immediate loss of consciousness and can be accompanied by convulsions, the Web site says. Parent's heart had stopped before she was taken to the hospital, Zondlo said. Zondlo said further tests will have to be conducted to determine if Parent suffered an embolism. Opened in 1980, Dutch Springs is on a 95-acre campground straddling the Bethlehem Township and Lower Nazareth municipal line. The campground includes a large water-filled former quarry that each summer season draws divers looking to practice their scuba techniques and take lessons from instructors. The 47-acre lake features several underwater attractions including a trolley, a silo, an airplane, a helicopter, a tanker truck and a school bus. There have been a number of deaths at Dutch Springs over the years, but none since July 2001. Fatalities also occurred in September 1999, twice in August 1991, in June of 1986 and twice in May of 1986. Parent's family declined Sunday to comment on her death. SOURCE - Times Express |
