The Associated Press
HONOLULU — The Honolulu Medical Examiner’s office says a Canadian teenager killed in a tour helicopter crash in Pearl Harbor earlier this month died of brain damage from drowning.
Witnesses said 16-year-old Riley Dobson of Guelph, Ontario, was trapped inside the helicopter after the Feb. 18 crash. He had to be cut free from his seat. He died at a hospital four days later.
The medical examiner’s office said Monday Dobson suffered brain damage from a lack of oxygen.
Two other passengers and the pilot were seriously injured. One passenger suffered minor injuries.
A preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board last week said the pilot felt a vibration then heard a grinding noise and a loud bang before the crash. The helicopter was submerged in about 40 feet of water.