The cause of the Nov. 18 death of a maintenance worker at James Brown Arena has been determined.
Rex Broadwater, 66, was responding to a gas leak when he was killed, the Richmond County Coroner has stated. The leak prompted the evacuation of a concert being held at the arena.
The GBI Medical Examiner determined the cause of death to be toxicity from 2-dichloro, 1-trifluoroethane. The toxicity was aggravated by a pre-existing medical condition, the report said.
The odorless gas, also known as HCFC-123, is used in large HVAC chillers as well as in fire suppression.
Broadwater, who lived in Hephzibah, joined the Army at age 17 and served two tours in Korea and a third in Panama, where he met his wife of 43 years, according to his obituary. While serving in the reserves, Broadwater attained the rank of sergeant.
Broadwater was not a city employee but worked in some capacity for Augusta Entertainment Complex manager Spectra, which was recently acquired by Oak View Group.
