Tuesday, August 13, 2002
Autopsy finds cocaine in Porter's system at time of death
By HEATHER HOLLINGSWORTH
Associated Press Writer
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Former All-Star catcher Darrell Porter had cocaine in his system when he died, according to autopsy results released Monday.
Porter, 50, had a level of cocaine in his system “typical of someone who uses (cocaine) recreationally,” Jackson County medical examiner Dr. Thomas Young said.
Young would not be more specific, saying measurements of cocaine in the body after death can be unreliable and can vary depending on where blood is drawn. It was unclear when Porter took the drug.
Porter did not die of an overdose, Young said, but of a condition called excited delirium, which causes “behavior that is agitated, bizarre and potentially violent,” and stopped Porter's heart.
Porter, who played for four teams and was the MVP of the 1982 World Series with the St. Louis Cardinals, was found dead Aug. 5 next to his car in a park.
During spring training in 1980, Porter checked into a drug-and-alcohol rehabilitation center. He chronicled his struggle with addiction and recovery from it in a 1984 book, “Snap Me Perfect! The Darrell Porter Story.”
Young said “heat exposure” and an enlarged heart, common among drug users or those with high cholesterol, contributed to Porter's death. The autopsy also found an “insignificant” amount of prescription drugs in Porter's system.
In a statement issued Monday night, Porter's family called the finding a grim reminder of the impact of drugs.
“For 22 years, Darrell remained sober,” said the statement read at Kauffman Stadium by former teammate Jerry Terrell. “The fact that he failed shows the evil of drugs and the power of the disease.”
Police said Porter's car went off the right side of the road and got caught on a tree stump in La Benite Park in Sugar Creek, a Kansas City suburb.
He got out of the car, walked to the nearby Missouri River and then back to his car.
Sugar Creek police Lt. Glen Newton said Porter left a note at home that he planned to go to the park to read the paper and listen to music.
There was no evidence to support earlier speculation by authorities that Porter tried to push the car off the stump. They guessed Porter might have overheated in high heat and humidity.
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Autopsy finds cocaine in Porter's system at time of death
