Coroner Says Ruptured Artery Caused Death Of Coach

Wednesday, July 25th 2007, 1:26 pm

By: News On 6

The Pulaski County, Arkansas Coronerâ€™s office says the foul ball that killed Tulsa Drillers coach Mike Coolbaugh ruptured an artery in his neck and he died from a loss of blood to the brain. The coronerâ€™s office says the line drive hit Coolbaugh on the left side of the neck while he stood in the first-base coach's box.

The Drillers and the Arkansas Travelers were in the ninth inning, when Tino Sanchez hit a foul ball just outside the first base line, striking Coolbaugh.

Medical personnel at the game administered CPR on the field before Coolbaugh was taken by ambulance to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 9:47 p.m.

Coolbaugh had only been coaching with the Drillers for a month, after a wrist injury ended his 17 years of playing mostly minor league baseball. He played 39 games with the Milwaukee Brewers and five games for the St. Louis Cardinals.

Related stories:

7/5/2007 Coolbaugh Named Drillers Interim Hitting Coach

7/23/2007 Line Drive Hits And Kills Drillers Coach

7/24/2007 Mourning Coaches Wonder About Safety

7/24/2007 - Drillers To Return To The Field