Miller Gardner, the 14-year-old son of former New York Yankees outfielder Brett Gardner, was confirmed this week to have died by carbon monoxide poisoning while vacationing in Costa Rica.
Costa Rican officials also looked into whether food poisoning or another method of asphyxiation caused his death at a Costa Rican hotel on March 21, but ruled those causes out.
After testing his blood, Costa Rican authorities found a 64% concentration of carboxyhemoglobin, which is created when carbon monoxide bonds with hemoglobin in human blood. Levels above 50% are considered lethal.
The tests also came up negative for other substances and drugs, including fentanyl, Costa Rican Judicial Investigative Agency Director Randall Zuniga said, according to ABC News.
Officials believe a room full of machines tested for carbon monoxide, adjacent to the one the Gardner family stayed in, could be the source of the deadly gas.
“Levels of up to 600 parts per million were found, when the correct level should be zero in this specific case,” Zuniga told ESPN.
Officials at the Arenas Del Mar Beachfront & Rainforest Resort, where the Gardner family stayed, disagreed with the authorities’ assessment.
They told ABC News, “The levels in the hotel room were nonexistent and nonlethal. We trust that the forensic process will objectively, clearly, and conclusively clarify the causes of this unfortunate incident.”
This article is based in part on wire service reports.
• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.
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