Scuba Instructor Charged with Murder
29th July 2008
A former scuba instructor at the University of Alabama has been charged with criminally negligent homicide in the death of one of her students in class last year.
Allison Rainey Gibson, 44, turned herself into authorities Friday after being indicted by a grand jury last month.
Student Zachary Moore, 21, died from an air embolism in April 2007. Moore apparently ascended to the surface of the pool too quickly and didn’t exhale to release some of the air in his lungs, officials said at the time.
“They felt obviously that there was negligence on the part of the instructor that rose to a criminal level,” said Capt. Loyd Baker, commander of the Tuscaloosa County Metro Homicide Unit.
A junior from Fairhope, Moore was a member of the Theta Chi fraternity and was taking business classes. UA stopped offering the scuba class following his death, said UA spokeswoman Cathy Andreen. Gibson was contracted to work for the university, she said, and no longer teaches there.
Criminally negligent homicide is a Class A misdemeanor and is punishable
of up to a year in jail and a $5,000 fine.
Court records provide no information about what evidence the grand jury heard before deciding to indict Gibson. According to the indictment, members of the grand jury believe that Gibson failed to directly supervise Moore as he performed the dangerous exercise.
Moore died from an air embolism, which occurs after air bubbles form in the bloodstream and stop blood from reaching vital organs. They occur in scuba accidents because divers are breathing pressurized air.
Around 20 members of the beginning scuba class were participating in an exercise in which they dove to the bottom of the pool, left their equipment on the bottom and ascended back to the surface.
Moore apparently returned to the surface of the pool at the UA Aquatic Center too quickly and didn’t exhale to release some of the air, according to the autopsy report.
amuseinred
Chris Derrick asks: "If they were only in a pool, how deep was it for him to have an embolism?" Below are a couple of online references along with excerpts that can provide you with further information on this topic. SCUBA DIVING WITH BOYLE Understanding Boyle’s Gas Law Is Critical For Diver Safety © John Pohl - Jul 29, 2008 Refer to http://scuba-diving.suite101.com/article.cfm/diving_with_boyle Excerpts: Diving's popularity is growing worldwide. But many new divers do not understand Boyle's Law - one of diving's most important gas laws - and what it means for them. What Boyle's Law Means On A Dive When a diver breathes compressed air underwater, it is delivered by the regulator to their lungs at the ambient pressure of surrounding water. This prevents the lungs from collapsing under the pressure. Divers need to be aware, however, that: If they hold their breath during an ascent (even a few feet or less!), the compressed air in their lungs will expand as the ambient water pressure decreases, potentially causing a lung overpressure injury. Lung over pressure accidents can be fatal, and are possible in only a few feet of water when using compressed air. Burst lung alveoli make a mess; some veteran divers refer to this type of injury as 'making pink soup.'" THE MERCK MANUAL MEDICAL LIBRARY: The Merck Manual of Medical Information --- Second Home Edition Section: Accidents and Injuries Subject: Diving and Compressed Air Injuries Barotrauma Refer to http://www.merck.com/mmhe/print/sec24/ch295/ch295b.html Excerpt: "The most common cause of pulmonary barotrauma is breath-holding during an ascent from a scuba dive, typically resulting from running out of air at depth. In panic, a diver may forget to exhale freely as air in the lungs expands during the ascent. Air embolism can occur in as little as 4 feet of water if a person breathing pressurized air holds his breath while ascending."
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Chris Derrick
if they were only in a pool how deep was it for him to have an embolism?