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DRAPER, Utah (AP) -- A Utah State Prison inmate has died after swallowing a hard-boiled egg whole.
William Scott McLatchy, 21, of Tooele saved the peeled egg from one of his meals and took it back to his cell, said Jack Ford, spokesman for the Utah Department of Corrections.
A nurse at the Draper prison's Olympus Housing unit found McLatchy lying on the floor unconscious. After medical personnel cleared his throat and restored his breathing, McLatchy was taken to Alta View Hospital then flown to University Hospital, where he was on life support until he died about 3 a.m. Thursday.
Ford said McLatchy had earlier threatened to commit suicide by jumping off the top floor of the diagnostic unit, after which he was transferred to a camera-monitored cell in the infirmary. On Oct. 28, he was transferred to the Olympus facility for specialized treatment.
McLatchy was put on probation in January on guilty pleas to drug and traffic charges. He was admitted to the prison for a 60-day evaluation on Oct. 14 after he violated conditions of his probation. Ford said the violations included driving under the influence of alcohol, public intoxication and failing a urine drug test.
Prison officials will investigate the incident, Ford said.
"We thought we were doing everything we should be," he said. "We'll see if something could be done differently to prevent this from happening."
(Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
