NY.Tirnes APR 13 171 Drowning Given as Cause Of Whitney Young's Death

The National Urban. League that the deceased seemed to be yesterday released the report in some difficulty and had of an autopsy performed here raised his arm but without on the body of Whitney M. bringing up his' head." Young Jr., the league's exec- "He was then seen to be sub- utive director. It attributed Mr. merged by a wave and did not Young's death in Nigeria last come to the surface," Dr. Hel- month to drowning—although pern continued. he knew how td swim and was "Two of his friends immedi- only about 100 feet away from ately went to his assistance and friends. noted that his head had re- The report noted that drown- mained under water. They esti- ings of that -sort were not un- mated that it did not take them usual and that the circum- more than a minute and a half stances and autopsy do not al- to reach him. They grabbed ways offer an explanation of him under the arms and carried how the victim "loses control of him out of the water." the situation even though he Despite immediate and con- can swim." tinuing efforts to revive him, The autopsy, performed by using the techniques of mouth- Dr. Milton Helpern, the city's to-mouth breathing and the ap- Chief Medical Examiner, at the plication of rhythmic pressure request of Mr. Young's family, to his chest, the report con- contradicted the findings of an tinued, "it appears that he autopsy performed in Lagos, never responded or showed any Nigeria, on March 12, the day vital signs...." after Mr. Young's death. He was pronounced dead by The first post-mortem exam- a physician more than an hour ination, performed by the chief later. internist at the Lagos General `Not Unusual' Hospital, found that the 49- The circumstances and the year-old Mr. Young "died of a lack of any significant contra- subarachnoid hemorrhage," that dictory evidence, Dr.- Helpern is, a break in the blood vessels wrote, "compelled" him to con- in the space around the brain. clude "that the death resulted Finding Is Explained from submersion while the de- But Dr. Helpern found "no ceafed was swimming in a fairly hemorrhage . . anywhere in strong ocean surf, for reasons its [the brain's] substance," which are not demonstrable." Such cases of drowning in and wrote in his report that persons who can, swim are not "the 'appearance of the surface unusual," he added. of the brain was not that of Under such circumstances, subarachnoid hemorrhage...." the examiner said, "death from He found, be wrote, "a very submersion or drowning can oc- slight amount" of blood in the cur very rapidly. . . . In many furrows of the brain surface on similar cases, even when the the right side, but he attributed victim is rescued promptly, the the appearance of the brain "to outcome is fatal.. . ." the effect of vigorous attempts According to Mr. Clark, Dr. at resuscitation" made by Mr. Helpern wrote, "it was esti- Young's friends after he was mated that the entire intervel pulled unconscious from the during which he (Mr. Young) surf of Lighthouse Beach, near might have been submerged Lagos. was not more than 90 sec- Following the description of onds. . ." Mr. Clark was one the physical findings of the of the two persons who pulled 'autopsy, Dr. Helpern wrote a Mr. Young from the surf. lengthy "conclusion," giving a Mr. Young and the others in narrative reconstruction of the the group had been attending a circumstances of. Illt,,`Young's conference on Afro-American death, apparently pieced to- affairs in Lagos. gether from the accounts of His body was flown back to those who were with him, in- the United States three days cluding Ramsey Clark, the- for- after his death, and a service at mer United States Attorney the Riverside Church in New General, and his wife. York City was attended by Mr. Young and his compan- more than 6,000 people. ions had gone into the water President Nixon led the about 10 minutes before. Four mourners at a graveside service of them were standing on the in the cemetery in Lexington, beach when, Dr. Helpern said, Ky., where Mr. Young was "it was noticed by one of these buried. Mr. Young had been (our [still in the water], who executive director of the Urban was about 100 feet from him, League since 1961.