Teen drowning caused by carbon monoxide, alcohol

By MARSHA DORGAN
Register Staff Writer

The 13-year-old Napa girl who drowned on Labor Day weekend at Lake Berryessa died of the combined effects of carbon monoxide poisoning caused by boat engine fumes and consumption of alcohol, according to the Napa County Coroner’s Office.

Autopsy results revealed that Erin Brookman, a Vintage High School freshman who was to turn 14 the next day, had a lethal level of carbon monoxide in her lungs and had a blood-alcohol level of .17, more than twice the legal limit for adults in California, said Napa County Sheriff’s Lt. Tom Commander.

Brookman was at the lake with family and friends who had gathered on several boats near the Pope Creek Bridge. Brookman and a female friend were in the water near those boats. Some of the engines were idling, and therefore contributed to the carbon monoxide poisoning, investigators said.

At first, Brookman’s friend became sick, and several of the people on the boat jumped into the water to help her. At that time, Brookman went under the water and did not resurface, detectives said, adding that people at the scene lost track of Brookman during the commotion of attending to her friend.

The Napa County Dive Team returned to the lake on the following and recovered Brookman’s body near the area where she went under, in about 35 feet of water.

Sheriff’s detectives are in the midst of conducting a criminal investigation into the drowning. At this time, no arrests have been made.

Commander said autopsy results showed Brookman had a carbon monoxide level of 64 percent.

“Potential lethal levels of carbon monoxide in a person’s body is between 50-60 percent,” he said. “Age also has an effect. The younger the victim, the less the level needs to be to be lethal.”

According to the U.S. Coast Guard, boaters face significant risks from carbon monoxide, particularly in areas where multiple boats gather. People entering the water from boats should stay away from the areas where engine exhaust is released when the engines are running.

Colorless, odorless and tasteless, carbon monoxide is a by-product of gasoline and propane-fueled engines. Overexposure to carbon monoxide can cause symptoms similar to inebriation or being sea sick.

Brookman and her mother had moved to Napa about two months ago from Rohnert Park.

Brookman had been a student at Vintage for about five days before her death.

She is survived by her sister, Lauren, her parents, grandparents and several other relatives. Services were held Sept. 12 in San Jose.

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