Travis County, TX – On Monday, the Travis County Medical Examiner released the autopsy results for 15-year-old Sarah Pool.The autopsy found high levels of carbon monoxide in Pool’s system.
The Westlake student disappeared during a church wakeboarding camp at Lake Travis.Authorities believe she inhaled a large amount of CO as she held on to the back of a boat.She eventually fell in the lake and drowned.
Carbon monoxide is called the silent killer.You can’t see it or smell it and boaters are especially at risk.
“The way that CO works is that it works in your bloodstream and it competes with oxygen for binding sites so it basically pushes oxygen out of the way,” said Emergency Room Doctor Jeff Jarvis of Baylor Scott & White Health in Round Rock.
According to the CDC, each year hundreds of people die from carbon monoxide poisoning.It can happen anywhere.Usually in an enclosed space but it can happen even out on the water, in a wide-open space.
“One of the things that we say in emergency medicine is the solution to pollution is dilution,” said Dr. Jarvis. Dr. Jarvis says symptoms include headaches, disorientation and nausea.It can seem like dehydration, the flu or even seasickness at first.
“As the levels get higher and higher you can start to have seizures, lethargy, coma and eventually death,” said Dr. Jarvis.
You can prevent exposure by installing a carbon monoxide detector in your car, home or even your boat and the CDC recommends all boaters buy a CO or fume detector specifically designed for marine use.
CO can build up on a boat from a faulty exhaust system, a generator on board or another boats’ exhaust.According to the CDC, the rear of the boat is a gathering place for CO gas.And the effects can take only minutes to sink in, in some cases.The treatment is oxygen.
“The best thing to do is get out of the environment. Again dilute that gas,” said Dr. Jarvis.
A marine use CO detector costs around $100.