Niantic Man Dies After Incident In High School Pool

By Patricia Daddona
January 10, 2002

Michael Treadway of 34 York Ave. was swimming laps at about 6:40 p.m. when he abruptly stopped
swimming and lost consciousness, said police Lt. James E. Flannigan Sr. and First Selectman Paul B. Eccard.
Lifeguards with the town's Recreation and Parks Department immediately removed Treadway from the
water and started cardiopulmonary resuscitation while others called emergency personnel, they said.

Police, firefighters and ambulance workers from the Jordan Volunteer Fire Co., as well as Lawrence &
Memorial Hospital paramedics, tried to revive Treadway with cardiac medication and a defibrillator but his
heart appeared to have stopped, said Jordan Fire Lt. Mark Cassidy.

Treadway was pronounced dead at the hospital, police said.

The automatic defibrillator has to pick up some type of heart rhythm to deliver a shock and restore a normal
heart rhythm, Cassidy said.

“He didn't have the right rhythm. He never came back to the level where they could shock him. His heart
was stopped. There was nothing that the machine could work with,” Cassidy said.

Police are investigating the incident, Flannigan said.

“It's premature to draw an opinion about what might have happened in the water with Mr. Treadway,”
Eccard added.

It was not clear late Wednesday night whether Treadway lived independently. Eccard said Treadway's parents
live in Delaware.

The Greater New London Special Olympics program, a division of Special Olympics Connecticut, holds
practice every Wednesday at the high school pool. Paula Jessuck, director of the Greater New London
program, who was not at the pool when the incident occurred, referred questions to a Special Olympics
Connecticut spokesman who could not be reached for comment.

The pool will be closed until 2:30 p.m. today, Eccard said. Town employees who were working at the pool
will receive grief counseling. Their efforts and those of emergency personnel were quick and thorough,
Eccard said.

Last summer, Charlton Meredith of Gales Ferry died after failing to reach a raft at Waterford Town Beach.
Lifeguards, including some from nearby Ocean Beach Park in New London, pulled him ashore.