Posted at 4:32 p.m., Friday, April 7, 2006
Bacterial infection claims man's life
Advertiser Staff
Johnson, a 34-year-old Honolulu mortgage broker, died last night after he was taken off life support.
Dr. Kanthi De Alwis, chief medical examiner, said today that a vulnificus bacterial infection was present in Johnson's foot and he suffered from chronic alcoholic liver disease, which contributed to the flesh-eating infection's ability to take hold.
The medical examiner will continue to investigate whether injuries to his foot and whether blunt force trauma to his face resulted from assault or from an accident.
Meanwhile, Johnson's family has retained an attorney to investigate the circumstances that led to his death.
The family has not yet decided if they'll take legal action as a result of his death, Johnson's mother said today from her attorney's office.
But they are cooperating with police in an investigation of the events that led to his hospitalization Sunday with excruciating leg pain, she said.
Johnson had been battling a massive bacterial infection since he fell or was pushed into the sewage-tainted harbor a week ago. He died about 9:15 last night at The Queen's Medical Center, the city Department of the Medical Examiner said this morning.
Stephany Sofos, a close friend, said Johnson never regained consciousness after he was placed into a medically induced coma on Sunday to help his body battle the infection.
Johnson's mother arrived from Florida this week to be with her son, and one of his brothers flew in yesterday and went straight to the hospital, Sofos said.
The family made the decision to take Johnson off life support yesterday.
"This is such a tragedy on so many different levels," Sofos said. "He just kept getting worse and worse."
Johnson initially said he had fallen into the harbor Friday night but later indicated he was involved in a fight aboard a boat at the harbor and was pushed or thrown into the harbor, which had been contaminated by raw sewage when the city diverted an estimated 48 million gallons of untreated effluent into the Ala Wai Canal after a sewer main burst in Waikiki. City workers dumped the raw sewage into the canal to keep it from backing up into Waikiki apartments and hotel rooms, Mayor Mufi Hannemann has said.
Health experts are split in their opinions as to whether or to what extent Johnson's fall into the polluted water may have led to the bacterial infection that caused or contributed to his death.
A Honolulu man who fell into the sewage-contaminated Ala Wai Yacht Harbor died Thursday night of a massive bacterial infection that caused the loss of one of his legs, septic shock, and ultimately organ failure.

Oliver Johnson, 34, a Honolulu mortgage broker, died between 9:15 and 9:30 p.m. HST Thursday (0715-0730 UTC Friday) when his family removed him from life support.  On Friday, March 31, Johnson had apparently fallen into the waters of the Ala Wai Yacht Harbor, located at the mouth of the Ala Wai Canal on the western side of Waikiki.  

At the time, the canal and surrounding beaches were contaminated by over 48 million gallons of untreated sewage.  The extent to which the sewage spill contributed to Johnson's symptoms remains unclear.

Johnson earlier reported that he had fallen accidentally into the harbor, then later indicated that he had been involved in a fight on board a boat and had been pushed or thrown into the harbor waters.  A security guard at Johnson's apartment reported that he was bloodied and soaking wet, and that he stumbled into the lobby and collapsed.  Paramedics took Johnson to Straub Hospital where he was treated and released.

Johnson reported steadily worsening leg pain that weekend and was admitted to Queen's Hospital on Sunday with breathing difficulties.  Doctors that night amputated his left leg above the knee to try to halt the spread of the infection, and Johnson was placed in a medically induced coma.  

Initially suspecting that Johnson had contracted streptococcus-caused necrotizing fasciitis, doctors later found that Johnson had contracted three different bacteria, two of which, vibrio vulnificus and aeromonas hydrophila, have flesh-eating properties.  Despite the amputation, Johnson's condition steadily worsened to the point where doctors said that his other leg and left arm would also have needed to be amputated to save his life.

An autopsy performed by the Honolulu medical examiner's office reported that Johnson had suffered from massive organ failure caused by septic shock.  The medical examiner noted that Johnson had a vulnificus infection on his foot and suffered from chronic alcoholic liver disease which may have contributed to the infection's taking hold.

The Honolulu Police Department has opened a third-degree assault case; with Johnson's death, homicide detectives are also investigating.  State health officials are also investigating Johnson's illness.

Johnson's family has retained an attorney to investigate the causes surrounding his illness and death.  It is not clear yet whether any legal action will be taken.