The death of a Richland man who suffered fatal head injuries when he was shoved during what police called a road-rage incident was an accident, a deputy coroner ruled after an inquest Wednesday.
James Dunn, 57, was shoved to the ground May 12 outside the Northtowne Square Giant Eagle in Richland after he approached the vehicle of Douglas Dawson of East Liverpool, Ohio. Witnesses at the inquest said Dunn was "in Dawson's face," using profanity and gesturing obscenely.
Dunn apparently was upset about where Dawson had parked his vehicle.
Dawson was sitting in his car in the fire lane in front of the supermarket as he waited for his wife to finish shopping. Upset, Dunn honked his horn, then got out of his car, approached Dawson and began screaming at him, police and witnesses said.
Police said Dawson feared for his safety and pushed Dunn to the ground. Dunn suffered head injuries from the fall and from a resulting seizure, a pathologist testified. Dunn died about a week later.
Given the circumstances, "it's clearly evident that the conduct of Mr. Dawson is justifiable behavior," Deputy Coroner Timothy Uhrich said yesterday.
Because of the ruling, the manner of death, originally listed as a homicide, was changed to accidental.
"The level of conduct here does not rise to that manner (homicide)," Uhrich said.
Several witnesses described Dunn's behavior as hostile. They said that after several long blares of his horn, he got out of his vehicle and approached Dawson, who was by then standing at the rear of his own vehicle.
Witness Elizabeth Hannisick of Richland said Dunn was using profanity, and it appeared that Dawson was trying to back away from the situation.
"I was about 40 feet away, and it was in my direct vision," Hannisick said. Dunn was "very abusive" and cursing at Dawson, she said.
Hannisick said Dunn then "charged" Dawson.
"All that I heard next was a thud," she said.
Bennet Omalu, a forensic pathologist who conducted the autopsy, said Dunn had "significant contusions of the brain.
"The transfer of energy was focused on a small area on the back of his head," Omalu said. "The brain responds to injury in very peculiar ways, i.e. it swells up. The right brain kept on swelling up and was pushing the right brain towards the left. Because of that, he further suffered from secondary injuries due the response of the brain."
Omalu said there was evidence of at least two impacts to Dunn's head, which was in line with other testimony from bystanders who said that Dunn had a seizure several moments after he fell, causing him to strike his head against the pavement a second time.
Omalu said seizures among head trauma victims are not uncommon and could happen moments, hours or even longer after the initial trauma occurs.
Dawson was at the inquest but did not testify. He and several members of the Dunn family declined comment afterward.
