Max
06-11-2003, 06:57 PM
Man strapped in wheelchair drowns in pool at his home
By Mary Moreno
San Antonio Express-News
Web Posted : 06/11/2003 12:00 AM
A 49-year-old man confined to a wheelchair drowned in a pool at his home Tuesday afternoon despite efforts by his parents to save him, police said.
Robert Melvyn Belken, of the 15200 block of Oak Spring, died about 4 p.m.
Belken was paralyzed from the neck down and strapped to his wheelchair.
At about 3:45 p.m., police reported, Belken asked his parents to take him outside to get some sun.
About five minutes later, his parents heard a splash, police said. They found him in the deep end of the pool, about six feet under water.
They jumped in but couldn't free Belken from his wheelchair, police said.
By the time rescuers arrived, Belken had been under water for about 10 minutes. He was declared dead on the scene.
Cause of death is pending results of an autopsy, according to officials at the Bexar County medical examiner's office, but the death tentatively has been ruled accidental.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
mmoreno@express-news.net
http://news.mysanantonio.com/story.cfm?xla=saen&xlb=180&xlc=1010178
By Mary Moreno
San Antonio Express-News
Web Posted : 06/11/2003 12:00 AM
A 49-year-old man confined to a wheelchair drowned in a pool at his home Tuesday afternoon despite efforts by his parents to save him, police said.
Robert Melvyn Belken, of the 15200 block of Oak Spring, died about 4 p.m.
Belken was paralyzed from the neck down and strapped to his wheelchair.
At about 3:45 p.m., police reported, Belken asked his parents to take him outside to get some sun.
About five minutes later, his parents heard a splash, police said. They found him in the deep end of the pool, about six feet under water.
They jumped in but couldn't free Belken from his wheelchair, police said.
By the time rescuers arrived, Belken had been under water for about 10 minutes. He was declared dead on the scene.
Cause of death is pending results of an autopsy, according to officials at the Bexar County medical examiner's office, but the death tentatively has been ruled accidental.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
mmoreno@express-news.net
http://news.mysanantonio.com/story.cfm?xla=saen&xlb=180&xlc=1010178