Cause of Death for Worker at James Brown Arena Released

Richmond County Coroner Mark Bowen says autopsy results are in regarding the cause of a man's death at the James Brown Arena in November.

Sixty-six-year-old Rex Broadwater was working at the arena November 18 when a gas leak was reported at the facility prior to the start of a scheduled event.  Several hundred people were evacuated and the Charlie Wilson & Friends concert was cancelled.

Broadwater was investigating the gas leak when he became unconscious.  He was pronounced dead at the scene about an hour later.  At the time, officials said it was determined freon was leaking from an HVAC unit inside the arena.

Today, Bowen says the GBI Medical Examiner has listed the cause of Broadwater's death as 2- Dicholoro, 1-trifluoroethane toxicity complicated by a pre-medical condition.