A US Air Force Academy cadet found lifeless in her Colorado dorm room last month died of pneumonia — a tragedy that could have been prevented, according to one medical expert.
Avery Koonce, 19, of Tyler, Texas, died Sept. 4 as the result of “paeniclostridium sordelli sepsis complicating parainfluenza laryngotraceobronchitis,” according to an autopsy report from the El Paso County Coroner’s Office.
“In essence she died of untreated pneumonia,” said famed forensic pathologist Dr. Michael Baden, who reviewed the autopsy report obtained by The Post.
The coroner described paeniclostridium sordelli as a “relatively rare but potentially fatal anaerobic bacteria” that is “associated with a toxic shock-like syndrome that can rapidly progress to death.” But it was “secondary” to the parainfluenza — or viral lung infection — the coroner’s report found.
Baden, the former chief medical examiner of NYC, theorized the bacteria “could have been treated with penicillin” and the virus could have been addressed with fluids and antibodies.
“She first had the viral infection that diminished her immunity, so the bacteria were able to flourish,” he explained, adding that her death was not related to any “preexisting abnormality.”
In the days before Koonce’s demise, she likely would have shown symptoms, such as coughing, fever and difficulty breathing, he said.
The autopsy report found the first-year cadet had a chronic cough that got worse.
Still, “it was a curable situation with antibiotics,” said Baden, noting that sometimes sick people don’t seek treatment because they don’t realize how sick they actually are.
The El Paso coroner declined to comment. Koonce’s family and the Academy didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Koonce was a high school track star who was a member of the academy’s track and field team.
A sprinter at Thrall High School in Taylor, Texas, she ran 100 meters in 12.12 seconds and 200 meters in 25.67 seconds.
“Our daughter Cadet Avery Koonce was an incredible bright light in this broken world,” Koonce’s parents, Eric and Kelly Koonce, said in a statement released by the academy a few days after her tragic death. “Our lives will forever be diminished because of her absence.”