Delayed crash fatality held as `reminder'
BELLEVUE
Bellevue police and fire officials yesterday said there was no way for them to foresee the death of a Southwest Seattle man last week, three days after he totaled his car in a Bellevue crash.
"We can't force anybody to be treated," Bellevue Fire Department spokesman Dean Harm said. "If a patient refuses to be treated, there is a place on the medical form. They sign off, and that's it."
Meantime, officials say the Friday death of 45-year-old John Soini should serve as a reminder for people to get a thorough medical examination after any accident, even if there aren't any immediate signs of trauma.
Soini's red Toyota Corolla collided with a red pickup at 9 a.m. May 9 at 156th Avenue Northeast and Northeast 24th Street while Soini was on his way to work at Microsoft a few blocks away.
Bellevue police haven't said who caused the crash.
"Right now we need people with independent recollections to come forward and help us put the chain of events together," police spokeswoman Marcia Harnden said.
Soini suffered a cut hand, Harm said. Paramedics treated that. But he declined a thorough checkup, saying he wanted to get to work. A tow-truck driver gave him a lift.
On Friday, Soini collapsed at home and died at Highline Community Hospital in Burien. An autopsy showed he had a ruptured spleen caused by the crash, the King County Medical Examiner's Office ruled.
Bellevue fire officials, however, don't believe the office should make that conclusion.
"There are a lot of unanswered questions," Harm said. "I would be skeptical this would be due to the accident. It happened three days after."
Still, trained medical personnel acknowledge that internal organs can bleed for days without a person knowing it. And sometimes basic medical tests can miss organ damage, fire officials said.
Paramedics may forcefully treat a patient only if a police officer rules the patient is incapacitated and in dire need of aid, Harm said - someone extremely drunk or in severe shock, for example.
"But that's way outside what we're dealing with here," Harm said.
"If there's any lesson to be learned here, it's for people to pay attention to what's going on with your body. After an accident like this, go get it checked out."
Ian Ith's phone message number is 206-464-2109. His e-mail address is iith@seattletimes.com