Brigadier General James Doty was a retired Army guy in my current home county, lived in Cibolo, which is near Randolph AFB. I didn’t know him, just read about him.
Back in June he withdrew cash from a credit union teller, was observed by a black female, who followed him out of the lobby and got in a car which followed him to another business. When he came out of that business a different vehicle pulled up and a black male knocked him to the ground from behind. Doty struggled with his assailant for a moment but the assailant got away taking a white envelope from Doty.
This is known from video collected later. For reasons not given in any article Doty did not report the crime to police nor did he seek medical attention. I don’t know if he even told his family about it at the time.
A week later his family noticed him acting strangely, he had a serious fall, and this time he was hospitalized. He went into a coma the next day, was put on a ventilator, and died a week or two later in July. He was only 61. I don’t think any of the article say, but I think it’s highly likely he died of a traumatic brain injury, probably a slow bleed.
Apparently he told somebody about the jugging before he lost consciousness because the police started an investigation, pulled video, and got description of the female and the male and their vehicles.
Earlier in November the local police, constables in Harris County, and US Marshals tracked the woman down and arrested her in Houston.
I just ran across this local news. A couple things jumped out at me.
1. Yeah situational awareness, but it is really hard to stay on your toes every second, especially by yourself in familiar places.
2. Head injuries can be tricky and dangerous. They can take hours or days to develop symptoms. I don’t know why Doty didn’t tell the cops nor go to the hospital, and I’m not trying to rain on a good guy, but he should’ve done both, especially the hospital check. Just because you feel great after getting smacked in the head doesn’t mean everything is okey-dokey.
As a medical first responder for my volunteer fire department, I once had a conversation with a motorcyclist who crashed. He was perfectly lucid, introduced himself, remembered details of the accident, knew his name, day of the week, and all that good stuff. Was very friendly, and even laughed. 30 seconds later we had the exact same conversation again. He did not remember meeting me, and we went through the whole thing again, introducing ourselves, checking his grasp of current events, daytime whatever. 30 seconds later we did the whole thing again. It was like talking with an Alzheimer patient, but the guy was only 30-something. Hopefully it was just a mild concussion which can screw with your short term memory but you don’t know that until the brain doctors check things out.
Any time there’s a chance you banged your head, get it checked no matter how great you feel, and pay attention to what the docs and medics tell you to watch for. Don’t just go home and sleep it off by yourself. Tell your family, your coworkers, so they can keep an eye on you.
I wrote “chance” above because it’s quite possible to hit your head without realizing it. Sometimes it happens so fast you don’t notice.
“Ma’am I think you should go with the paramedics to the ER and get checked for brain injury.”
“Oh, I don’t need to go, I didn’t hit my head.”
“Do you know there’s a bruise on your forehead shaped like your steering wheel?”
”I do?”
So if you fall off the ladder, or fall, especially for more than your own height, or you do anything else where you might have bumped your head even unknowingly, do get it checked and be watchful.
3. Reading about the incident just made me sad. RIP General Doty.
seguingazette.com
www.nichd.nih.gov
Back in June he withdrew cash from a credit union teller, was observed by a black female, who followed him out of the lobby and got in a car which followed him to another business. When he came out of that business a different vehicle pulled up and a black male knocked him to the ground from behind. Doty struggled with his assailant for a moment but the assailant got away taking a white envelope from Doty.
This is known from video collected later. For reasons not given in any article Doty did not report the crime to police nor did he seek medical attention. I don’t know if he even told his family about it at the time.
A week later his family noticed him acting strangely, he had a serious fall, and this time he was hospitalized. He went into a coma the next day, was put on a ventilator, and died a week or two later in July. He was only 61. I don’t think any of the article say, but I think it’s highly likely he died of a traumatic brain injury, probably a slow bleed.
Apparently he told somebody about the jugging before he lost consciousness because the police started an investigation, pulled video, and got description of the female and the male and their vehicles.
Earlier in November the local police, constables in Harris County, and US Marshals tracked the woman down and arrested her in Houston.
I just ran across this local news. A couple things jumped out at me.
1. Yeah situational awareness, but it is really hard to stay on your toes every second, especially by yourself in familiar places.
2. Head injuries can be tricky and dangerous. They can take hours or days to develop symptoms. I don’t know why Doty didn’t tell the cops nor go to the hospital, and I’m not trying to rain on a good guy, but he should’ve done both, especially the hospital check. Just because you feel great after getting smacked in the head doesn’t mean everything is okey-dokey.
As a medical first responder for my volunteer fire department, I once had a conversation with a motorcyclist who crashed. He was perfectly lucid, introduced himself, remembered details of the accident, knew his name, day of the week, and all that good stuff. Was very friendly, and even laughed. 30 seconds later we had the exact same conversation again. He did not remember meeting me, and we went through the whole thing again, introducing ourselves, checking his grasp of current events, daytime whatever. 30 seconds later we did the whole thing again. It was like talking with an Alzheimer patient, but the guy was only 30-something. Hopefully it was just a mild concussion which can screw with your short term memory but you don’t know that until the brain doctors check things out.
Any time there’s a chance you banged your head, get it checked no matter how great you feel, and pay attention to what the docs and medics tell you to watch for. Don’t just go home and sleep it off by yourself. Tell your family, your coworkers, so they can keep an eye on you.
I wrote “chance” above because it’s quite possible to hit your head without realizing it. Sometimes it happens so fast you don’t notice.
“Ma’am I think you should go with the paramedics to the ER and get checked for brain injury.”
“Oh, I don’t need to go, I didn’t hit my head.”
“Do you know there’s a bruise on your forehead shaped like your steering wheel?”
”I do?”
So if you fall off the ladder, or fall, especially for more than your own height, or you do anything else where you might have bumped your head even unknowingly, do get it checked and be watchful.
3. Reading about the incident just made me sad. RIP General Doty.
Houston woman arrested in San Antonio robbery of veteran who later died
Cibolo police announced Tuesday night an arrest in a months-old jugging robbery case that turned tragic with the death of a long-time civil servant.
What are common symptoms of traumatic brain injury (TBI)?
Learn about symptoms of TBI, such as confusion, mood changes, and vomiting.
