Tragic Death a Result of Sleep Apnea

[mousetater]

Reported in today's New York Newsday:
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/longi ... -headlines

Killed walking home
15-year-old girl walking with sister fatally struck when driver fell asleep at wheel, police say
BY CHRISTINE ARMARIO
Newsday Staff Writer

July 24, 2006

Two teenage sisters walking home in Huntington were hit by a Lloyd Harbor man who fell asleep at the wheel and lost control of his car yesterday, killing one and injuring the other, Suffolk Police said.

Blanca Benitez, 15, and Anna Benitez, 17, were walking home from a cousin's house at about 1 p.m. when a 2003 Hummer driven by Gerald Taddonio, 55, jumped the curb at Park Avenue in Huntington, striking the two girls, police said.

As her sister lay on the roadway, Anna Benitez rushed to her side. "Blanca died in her arms," said Laurie Constantino, a guidance counselor at South Middle School in Brentwood, which the girls attended classes before high school.

Police said Taddonio suffers from sleep apnea and had not been sleeping well recently or regularly using a treatment device prescribed to those who suffer from the condition.

Det. Sgt. Bruce Markgraf of Suffolk's Second Squad said Taddonio was woken by his wife's screams, and that the incident likely took place in less than a second.

"He was only on the curb, probably 100 feet," Markgraf said. "He stopped as soon as he realized something had happened."

Taddonio will not be charged, regardless of his disorder, because it was considered an accident, as with other cases where a driver loses concentration, Markgraf said.

In New York, those with sleep apnea are not required to report their condition to the state Department of Motor Vehicles, Markgraf said. He said that Taddonio was "extremely distraught."

A woman who answered the door at Taddonio's Lloyd Harbor home declined to comment, saying only, "We've been through enough today."

Blanca Benitez, of Greenlawn, attended Brentwood High School. She had emigrated from El Salvador to the United States three years ago.

"She learned English very quickly," said Constantino, as she held vigil with family members outside the emergency room at Huntington Hospital, where Anna Benitez was being treated for head injuries. Police said she was in good condition.

The sisters were headed northbound on Park Avenue near Henry Street when the car came up from behind them and onto the curb. Markgraf said Anna Benitez told police she heard a noise, flinched and started to turn.

"That was it," Markgraf said. "She never got a chance to turn around."

Constantino said Anna called her from the patrol car. "Anna kept saying, 'I wanted to push out of the way," Constantino said.

Bernadette Watkins, an associate pastor at Solid Rock Ministry in Huntington, was talking on her cell phone with a parishioner who suddenly started screaming that someone had been run over. Watkins immediately went to the scene, where she said she came across the horrific sight: "just them crying and screaming and a body lying in the street."

Blanca Benitez's foster parents and biological father declined to comment.

"She was a bright, warm, giving, loving, gentle child," Constantino said of Blanca Benitez. "She had a beautiful smile."

The sisters have another sibling, Jessica Benitez, 14, who was visiting family in El Salvador at the time of the accident, Constantino said. "She had to learn about it there," she said. "She's another beautiful girl whose life will suffer."

Taddonio has two children, ages 10 and 14, who were in the car during the accident. The older child, a girl, had participated in a horse show in Yaphank yesterday morning. They were driving back from the show, a horse in a trailer attached to the car, at the time of the crash.

"They both had dreams," Constantino said of the Benitez sisters. "They were innocent and their lives were destroyed."

Staff writer Jennifer Smith contributed to this story.


QUESTION: Are there states where you are required to report your sleep apnea to the State Dept of Motor Vehicles (or equivalent)?

[MandoJohnny]

QUESTION: Are there states where you are required to report your sleep apnea to the State Dept of Motor Vehicles (or equivalent)?

I hope not! What possible purpose would that serve? Would it be to prohibit apnea patients from driving? Would it be to assign them extra liability any time they got in an accident? The unfortunate thing it would do is be one more reason for undiagnosed apnea patients to avoid getting diagnosed and getting the treatment they need! How would that help anyone, including other motorists? It is estimated that 90% of apnea sufferers are undiagnosed. I doubt such a requirement would even be constitutional. It would be a violation of privacy to have to disclose a medical condition that if properly treated, has no direct bearing on driving.

This accident was tragic, but it is a case of personal responsibility. It is every driver's responsibility not to "drive sleepy" just like it is thier responsibility not to drive drunk. That is true whether the sleepiness is due to medication, staying out late partying, narcolepsy or any number of reasons, not just apnea. The guy who killed this girl is guilty of gross negligence. It sounds like he is using his apnea as an excuse, which I find deplorable. It doesn't do apnea sufferers as a group any good at all.

[mousetater]

I agree with everything you said.

If I have to register my sleep apnea, then shouldn't cancer patients have to register as well? Many of their treatments make then sleep, too. (Just one example).

It does show, though, that even if we have trouble finding a comfortable mask, or a quiet machine, or the correct position for our hose, it is still so very important to work through those issues and not give up on treatment. The consequences of not doing that can be fatal - to others as well as ourselves.

[NightHawkeye]

That's a sad situation for all involved. A lot of victims for sure.

I can see the lawsuits already. Might as well go along with the press and convict the guy without a trial, because we all know it's his fault he wasn't undergoing the necessary therapy. Never mind that his poor compliance might have anything to do with being poorly titrated, or that he might have had such a poorly fitting mask that he ended up with bruises on his face after trying to use the device for a few days. It's still his fault even if he made a dozen phone calls to his sleep doc and DME trying to get problems taken care of before he became non-compliant.

Of course, what's probably gonna happen now based on the slant of the article, since everyone knows that only about half of those on xPAP are compliant, is that apnea sufferers will be required to report that to authorities, and will have driving restrictions imposed, and will be forced to undergo mandatory compliance control through their local DME's, who will charge only a modest fee each month for providing this service. I can hardly wait.

Regards,
Bill

[Wulfman]

I wonder if he was also one of those "statistics" that had his CPAP in the closet, too. Kinda sounds like it.

It would be interesting to find out the "unknowns" about this case.

Den

[Snoozin' Bluezzz]

The guy who killed this girl is guilty of gross negligence. It sounds like he is using his apnea as an excuse, which I find deplorable.

There is no evidence in this story that supports your assertion. We do not know if he offered it as an excuse or not and we do not have enough evidence based on this story to hang him from the rafters for "gross negiligence". That is a matter for the police and the courts, not us.

Sorry but I really don't think you are being fair but judging a man, who has to feel terrible, without knowing the entire story. I'm sure there are plenty of other folks joining you in this effort and his life will be miserable for a long time to come.

David

[mousetater]

The article does say he was extremely distraught. I'm sure this will stay with him forever.

[Sibby]

This simply makes the point (at least for me) that this could be any one of us.

The families of all involved have my sympathies and my prayers.

[MandoJohnny]

There is no evidence in this story that supports your assertion. We do not know if he offered it as an excuse or not and we do not have enough evidence based on this story to hang him from the rafters for "gross negiligence". That is a matter for the police and the courts, not us.

Well how did the police know about the apnea if he didn't offer it as an excuse? Do they have ESP? Did they do a roadside PSG?

It is certainly a matter for the police and the courts. But it is also a matter for us. I am interested in the topic, I have an opinion on it and last time I checked, we all still have free speech. If you don't want to discuss it, that is your right. I do, and I stand by my statement. Besides, it's only an internet message board. Lighten up.

[ladytonya]

This is sad and very tragic. However, if anyone should know not to drive sleepy it should be an apnea patient. Whether he was compliant or not, he of all people should know not to drive sleepy. I often cannot drive in the morning, and when I feel so tired that I don't think I can drive, I don't drive! He did have the choice to know that if he felt that tired, he didn't have to get behind the wheel of a car. Especially a Hummer pulling a horse trailer! Of course, we don't know all the details, but regardless it is a very sad situation. Should teach all apnea sufferers a lesson.

[Snoozing Gonzo]

In my state, a significant majority of car wrecks with fatality are alcohol related. Yet the relatively few that are related to untreated (by choice or undetected) diabetes, heart conditions, etc. receive (IMO) inordinate press. The dilemma is whether the law should treat those folks who fully understand the consequences and choose, for whatever reason, to ignore their own needs to endanger other people under the same rules as drinking and driving, or as appears the direction in this case, treat it like an accident because it’s a medical condition? (I understand that I do not have the facts in this particular tragedy for all parties - it’s an example.)

Saying it that way seems to lead to an easy answer (and it may be in some cases). The issue is much more complex but the easy answer could result in over-reaction and invasive laws limiting the rights of those that are compliant who are, perhaps, even more aware of their surroundings and overall human frailty than the general public.

Chris

[krousseau]

I think the technology exists to prevent drunk driving and might work for driving while sleepy or under the influence of drugs/medications. It would entail a rather expensive system be installed in the car. It seems like a excellent consequence for a DUI. The driving while sleepy issue is trickier. I would hate to see a diagnosis of a sleep disorder require mandatory reporting to dept of motor vehicles and require installation of an expensive safety system in my vehicle-since I practice a no sleep-no drive policy. There are many people out there driving while on major doses of pain medication or with serious heart ailments that could cause their deaths at the wheels of their cars. My own Father was whistling Jingle Bells when he went into cardiac arrest on the way to his car. He would have been on the Pennsylvania turnpike within minutes. I also arrived on the scene of an accident in San Francisco within a few minutes of an elderly man dying while driving down a hill. Four or five people died including two children who were relatively uninjured in the initial crash-but the car caught fire and they died in the fire. Impaired driving is a big issue for me-regardless of what the cause is. But I also know that life didn't come with any guarantees and that slap on the bottom when born was a warning.

[snoregirl]

I think that there would be a problem with singling out Apnea patients to report to the DMV.

They would have to also require everyone on meds for high blood pressure, everyone with diabeties, and any other condition that could cause someone to pass out while driving report too. I am betting that they wouldn't get too far. And they could even arrest you if you were caught driving to the doctor's office with the flu.

Hey, there wouldn't be many cars on the road!! We could stop building new highways and bridges.

[Guest]

QUESTION: Are there states where you are required to report your sleep apnea to the State Dept of Motor Vehicles (or equivalent)?

I think doctors are required to report it and it can affect your ability to get your license renewed. They're required to report epilepsy and narcolepsy also.

It can also effect whether or not you qualify for life insurance.

On one hand, we want the world to know about OSA and all it entails. On the other hand, we want to keep it under wraps so our driver's licenses will be renewed and we can get life insurance.

[kteague]

Recently applied for auto insurance. They asked about sleep medications, but the interviewer was inexperienced, and did not ask exactly the right questions and I was able to skirt the issue on a technicality. At the end he advised me that they prosecute any misrepresentations and fraudulent claims. I know if I had an at-fault accident due to falling asleep, in the end I would not have been covered. Before I accepted the seriousness of all this, I drove when unsafe. Once I was less than a block from home and fell asleep. On my first night on this forum in the chatroom, a regular here challenged me to take it seriously, as a few months prior he lost his wife (same age as me) when she fell asleep at the wheel - and she was very close to home. His words impacted me when no other logic or doctors' recommendations had stopped me. For so long I had said "I have to drive. I have no choice." Bottom line - I chose to engage in dangerous behavior, whatever the reason. My driving is now self-limited. But if I'm too close to be objective, I hope somebody is courageous enough to give me a reality check.

Kathy

"There but for the grace of God go I"