New details have emerged regarding the death of Todd Meadows of the Deadliest Catch. The reality star was a deckhand on the Discovery Channel reality series.
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In newly revealed documents, PEOPLE reports Meadows died from "drowning with probable hypothermia" and "submersion of body in cold water," according to his death certificate, which was issued on March 6.
Was the Death of the "Deadliest Catch" Star an Accident?
As we reported last month, Meadows, aged 25, died on February 25 during filming of the new season of Deadliest Catch. He "fell overboard" while working on the Aleutian Lady fishing vessel off the Alaskan coast.
"Coast Guard watchstanders at the Arctic District command center in Juneau received notification from the fishing vessel Aleutian Lady, reporting that a crew member by the name of Todd Meadows fell overboard approximately 170 miles north of Dutch Harbor," read a statement from the United States Coast Guard Arctic District.
It added, "He was recovered unresponsive by the crew approximately 10 minutes later. First aid and attempts to resuscitate were unsuccessful, and the crew transported the deceased to Dutch Harbor."
The death certificate states that an autopsy was performed on Meadows. His death was ruled an accident.
What Happened to Todd Meadows?
According to another deckhand, Trey John Green III, the weather was calm and the temperature just below freezing on February 25, making the water frigid at the time of Meadows' death.
According to Green, the Deadliest Catch deckhand went overboard after an issue with a crab pot.
"I see Todd. He's floating, he's swimming. He's got huge baby blue eyes. And I can still, probably from like 100 yards away, I could still see his eyes looking around," he said.
The boat's rescue swimmer, Steve Porter, managed to get Meadows into a sling and halfway out of the water. Then he fell back in.
"The second time we went to go lift him up, Todd was just — he was lifeless," Green said. "He didn't have any more — like I said, the first time, he was fighting, trying to get onto the sling. And then the second time, he was just — he was lifeless."
According to Green, Meadows was in the water for only three or four minutes. The Deadliest Catch crew began to perform CPR to resuscitate him.
Captain Rick Shelford said in his Facebook tribute to Meadows that the deckhand "will forever be part of this boat, this crew, and this brotherhood. Though we lost him far too soon, his legacy will live on through his children and in every memory we carry of him. Rest easy brother, till we meet again."
