A woman found unconscious in a store’s washroom and who later died in hospital died from bleeding in her brain, according to the coroner.
Edna Josephine Green, 38, died from the rupture of an aneurysm due to acute cocaine intoxication on Nov. 24, 2014, said the BC Coroner’s report.
The report said that a toxicology report showed recent use of cocaine and that cocaine is associated with rupture of a brain aneurysm – a bulge in a blood vessel that can leak or rupture in the brain – by causing high blood pressure and a faster than normal heartbeat at rest.
Investigation indicated that Green had a history of recreational drug use, read the coroner’s report.
Her death was classified as accidental and the coroner did not make any recommendations.
Terrace RCMP and paramedics were called to Walmart at about midnight Nov. 22, 2014 after a staff member found Green, who worked there also, unresponsive laying on the washroom floor, said the coroner’s report.
Green was taken to Mills Memorial Hospital where she remained unresponsive for 1.5 days and doctors “determined she was not a candidate for any surgical intervention,” continued the report.
She continued to get worse until she passed away Nov. 24, said the report.
She had a black eye and a CT scan at hospital revealed “a massive brain bleed, later confirmed not to be a direct result” of the black eye, read the report.
Medical reports indicated that Green had been in a fight on Nov. 18 or early on Nov. 20 and hadn’t sought medical attention at that time, continued the coroner’s report.
Police ruled out foul play, concluded the report.
The BC Coroner’s Service investigates all unnatural, sudden and unexpected, unexplained or unattended deaths in the province.
For each death, the coroner will determine the identity of the deceased; when, where and by what means the deceased came to their death; and classify the death as natural, accidental, homicide, suicide or undetermined.
The coroner also determines whether any reasonable or practical recommendations may be made to prevent future deaths in similar circumstances.