Blow to head killed Korona, coroner says

Freshman Seth Korona died of bleeding in the brain caused by blunt force trauma to the head, Monroe County Coroner Dave Toumey said Sunday.\nKorona, 19, died Feb. 4 after being in a coma at Bloomington Hospital for nearly a week.\nThe blow to his head was consistent with injuries associated with a fall, Toumey said. He said he will continue to review the case to determine whether the death should be classified as accidental. \nIn the days before Korona died, University health personnel treated 135 students with an antibiotic designed to prevent meningitis and prepared a public health warning, according to University officials.\nDr. Hugh Jessop, director of the IU Health Center, said Bloomington Hospital had alerted the University that Korona might have bacterial meningitis. The University was later told he did not have the disease, Jessop said. \nBloomington Hospital cannot release details about Korona's care, including whether he had meningitis, said hospital community relations director Cassandra Brooks. \nThe University had been ready to issue a statement to let the public know about a case of meningitis, Dean of Students Richard McKaig said.\n"Drafts of statements were prepared and ready to roll," McKaig said.\nBut the statement was never needed.\nKorona's floormates in Foster Quad, students in classes with him and members of the Theta Chi fraternity, where Korona had attended a Jan. 27 party, were offered counseling to evaluate their risk and, if they chose, given the antibiotic for free, Jessop said. He said the antibiotic has no side effects.\nDoctors suspected meningitis when Korona was taken to the hospital, so they began tests and notified the University, Brooks said.\nKorona had shown potential symptoms of meningitis such as a high fever, neck pain and flu-like symptoms, Jessop said.\nDoctors at Bloomington Hospital decided Korona did not have meningitis when culture tests did not show the disease after 36 hours, Jessop said. The treatment for the other students was discontinued Jan. 31.\nDoctors discovered Korona's head injury a few days after he was admitted, Brooks said.\nToumey said if doctors had known immediately that Korona had sustained a blow to the head, they might have been able to do more to treat him.\nMeanwhile, Korona's family has a lot of questions, said Debra Neilson, a family friend. She said she hopes the IU Police Department investigation -- expected to be completed this week -- provides some answers.\n"The family is not in a rush. They're making sure (the investigation) is complete," Neilson said. "We just want to know the truth"