Woman Succumbs To Injuries, First Known Death Related To Napa Earthquake
NAPA (CBS SF) – A Napa woman's death is the first fatality related to the 6.0-magnitude earthquake that struck the area early on the morning of August 24.
65-year-old Laurie Anne Thompson passed away on Friday, September 5. The Napa County Sheriff's Department said she was struck by a television in her home on the morning of the quake.
Napa County Sheriff's Capt. Steve Blower said Thompson suffered a head injury and complained of a headache, but did not immediately go to a hospital. She was alert and did not show signs of cognitive impairment on the day of the earthquake.
However, the day afterward her family noticed she was feeling dizzy and her cognitive functions were impaired. The family convinced Thompson to go to the hospital, but she collapsed before they left, Blower said.
Thompson was taken by ambulance to the Queen of the Valley Medical Center in Napa, where her condition continued to deteriorate before her death around 9:35 a.m. Friday. Blower said the cause of death was an intracranial hemorrhage due to an injury suffered in the earthquake.
The Thompson family said anyone suffering from devastating aftereffects of the earthquake should seek help from mental health professionals and that talking with friends, neighbors and family members can also help people cope with earthquake-related problems.
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