| Patient drowns in pool at RTC |
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Posted: Thursday, December 3, 2009 5:20 pm
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ST. PETER — A 40-year old patient at the Minnesota Security Hospital drowned at the St. Peter Regional Treatment Center’s swimming pool on the afternoon of Nov. 24.
Police records indicate St. Peter Police received a report a 4:22 p.m. of the drowning by investigators at the St. Peter Regional Treatment Center.
A lifeguard on duty informed investigators there were six patients in the pool at the time of the incident when he noticed Richard John Erickson, 40, of Minneapolis, floating near the edge of the pool, which is located in Tomlinson Hall.
According to Patrice Vick, public information officer for the Minnesota Department of Human Services, Erickson was a patient who was in the Forensic Transition program at the hospital. That program is for patients who are transitioning out of the Minnesota Security Hospital.
The lifeguard stated Erickson liked to push off from the opposite edge of the pool and float face down to the other side of the pool. He said it was normal for Erickson to swim that way.
When he observed that Erickson was floating still he tapped him to see if he could get a response and when he didn’t respond the lifeguard jumped in the pool and pulled Erickson out.
According to Vick, the preliminary autopsy report indicates the death was accidental. Vick also stated this was the first incident of this type at the Tomlinson Hall pool in about five years when another patient suffered a heart attack while swimming and died.
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