The employee of a company hired to survey erosion along a lake inside the Stoneybrook Golf and Country Club community died from an accidental drowning, according to a Lee County Medical Examiner report.
The report, released June 6, states that Hugo Soto-Catalan, 29, of Estero, drowned while scuba diving in the lake April 21.
The autopsy showed that while mud was found inside his mouth and tracheobronchial tree, it did not appear to interfere with his breathing. The report states that pulmonary congestion and mild cerebral edema — both associated with drowning — caused his death.
No drugs or alcohol were found in his system, according to toxicology reports.
Shortly after Soto-Catalan’s body was pulled from the lake, the Lee County Sheriff’s Office ruled his death an accidental drowning.
He was working for the Fort Lauderdale company — Erosion Barrier Installations — at the time of his death. That company remains under investigation by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
Because OSHA has an open investigation into Soto-Catalan’s death, Les Grove, OSHA’s area director, would not comment on the case.
“We have six months to complete our investigation,” Grove said Friday. “Statutes require investigations to be completed within six months of the (accident).”
OSHA, which aims to reduce workplace injuries and fatalities, can pursue criminal misdemeanor penalties when a willful violation of an OSHA standard results in a worker’s death.
The maximum penalty is six months in jail.
