Local News in Brief : Autopsy Scheduled in Death Off Anacapa
An autopsy was scheduled today to determine the cause of death of a Westlake Village man who lost consciousness while scuba diving with his son and daughter off Anacapa Island near Santa Barbara.
Thomas Guerin, 49, was sighted floating in the ocean about 2:45 p.m. Saturday and taken to Los Robles Regional Medical Center in Thousand Oaks by helicopter, said Coast Guard Petty Officer James MacPherson.
Guerin was placed in a decompression chamber at the hospital, but efforts to revive him failed.
Guerin’s heart had stopped when he was hoisted from the waters, MacPherson said. Coast Guard Lt. John Ochs said Guerin was believed to have died when an air bubble obstructed the flow of blood to his brain, a condition that occurs when divers surface too rapidly.
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