Man found dead outside UMC was twice seen, released by doctors

In the 12 hours after a car crash in the south valley, Jason King Forrester was twice treated and released from University Medical Center before he died just outside of a hospital employee entrance.

While Las Vegas police have said there were no signs of a crime, Forrester left behind a mystery local authorities are working to unravel.

UMC spokeswoman Danita Cohen said this week that an internal investigation is ongoing to make sure hospital employees did everything “appropriately” while the 43-year-old man from Irvine, Calif., was in their care.

“He was seen by a physician. That physician determined he was in condition to be released,” Cohen said.

She added: “He did come back a second time, and a physician did see him a second time, and again, decided that he was in good enough condition to be released.”

Cohen said Forrester was examined twice on the evening of the 16th, but privacy laws bar her from discussing any treatment he may have received or even what times he arrived at the emergency room and when he was released.

Even Forrester’s time of death is uncertain. Authorities have said only that a hospital employee found his body at about 6 a.m. on Oct. 17.

The Clark County coroner’s office hasn’t determined a cause of death. County Coroner Mike Murphy said it may be four to six weeks before his office gets the results of toxicology screening and other tests.

Police are waiting for a cause of death to determine whether they will investigate.

Forrester’s family and friends, meanwhile, are waiting for answers. Nathan Forrester, 41, said through tears Monday that knowing his brother died on the doorstep of a hospital has been “a lot to take in.”

Jason Forrester’s friend Mal, who declined to give his last name, said his death has “got a lot of people wondering what happened.”

What is known is that Forrester’s problems began behind the wheel of his red Chevrolet Silverado. According to Nevada Highway Patrol trooper Jeremie Elliott, Forrester crashed his pickup at 5:57 p.m. on Oct. 16.

Reading from a preliminary report, Elliott said Forrester was driving on an access road leading to Interstate 15, near the Las Vegas Beltway interchange, when he lost control of the Silverado and crashed into a Chevrolet S-10 parked on the shoulder.

Elliott said Forrester and the S-10’s driver were both taken to UMC. He didn’t know the extent of Forrester’s injuries, but he said the other driver was not critically injured.

Exactly what caused the crash is unclear. Nathan Forrester said he spoke with an NHP trooper by phone last week and was told his brother passed both a breath test and a field-sobriety test, but there is no mention of the tests in the preliminary accident report.

Nathan Forrester was in Las Vegas last week in search of answers. He spoke with personnel with Las Vegas police, UMC and the coroner’s office.

He said his brother owned a construction company in California and, as a recovering alcoholic, served as a sponsor for many in Alcoholics Anonymous. He believed his brother had been in Las Vegas since Oct. 11 and was staying with a friend he sponsored.

“He was in good health,” he said. “We’re just waiting to find out the conclusions to these investigations.”

A memorial will be held Saturday in California.