Daughter of man who died at Franklin County Jail thinks it could have been prevented

CHAMBERSBURG -- A Chambersburg man died in Franklin County Jail on Friday, Sept. 28.

His daughter said his death could have been prevented.

Lee David Carbaugh, 57, collapsed at 5:14 p.m. in front of jail staff on C Unit, according to Warden William Bechtold.

“Staff immediately began life-saving measures including CPR and the application of the AED (automatic external defibrillator),” Bechtold said. “Outside emergency medical staff and the Letterkenny Fire Department arrived and took over medical care.”

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Despite the efforts, Carbaugh was pronounced dead at 5:56 p.m. by medical command, Bechtold said.

Renea Carbaugh said she was told that her father had died from an aneurysm in his aorta. People responding to the emergency thought he was suffering a heart attack, she said.

She said her father had known of his heart problem for two or three years and was waiting for a stent to be placed in an artery.

He complained to jail staff that Monday about something he described as heartburn, she said. He was given Maalox, and was to get Prilosec the following day. Both are heartburn medications. 

“I think it could have been prevented,” Renea Carbaugh said. “If he had been out here, we’d have taken him to the hospital. We wouldn’t have let it go.”

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Bechtold referred further questions about the death to Pennsylvania State Police and Franklin County Coroner Jeffrey Conner, who are investigating the death. Conner said Lee Carbaugh died a natural death. The cause was a dissected aorta.

In aortic dissection, the inner layer of the aorta tears, according to the Mayo Clinic. The aorta is the large blood vessel branching off the heart. Blood surges through the tear and causes the other layers of the aorta to separate. If the outside aortic wall ruptures, aortic dissection is often fatal.

About one-fifth of patients die before reaching the hospital, according to the Merck Manual.

“Why didn’t they call an ambulance right away?” Renea Carbaugh said. “I’ve been in state prison. They are so quick to call for an ambulance. They don’t play around.”

It’s the second time this year that the jail’s medical care has been questioned.

In July, former county inmate Anthony Michael Cobb claimed that medical staff at the jail were indifferent to his undiagnosed kidney cancer. His trial was delayed as his kidney eventually was removed. He is suing the jail in federal court for $1.8 million. Cobb, an inmate at State prison in Camp Hill, is serving 10 to 20 years for conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and solicitation of first-degree murder. He was charged in connection to a fight where shots were fired in April 2016 in Waynesboro.

Renea Carbaugh said her father had been living with her in Chambersburg before he went to jail. He was serving a 12-month sentence for leaving the scene of an accident and driving on a suspended license.

Arrangements are by Fogelsonger-Bricker Funeral Home and Crematorium, Shippensburg.

Jim Hook  717-262-4759