Earthquakes Northern San Francisco

Longshoreman Buck Helm, who lived for more than a month after being trapped for days amid the collapsed Nimitz Freeway, probably died from widespread infection and the stress it placed on an already diseased heart, his doctor said Monday. Helm's death Saturday shocked the medical staff because he appeared to be improving last week, said Dr. Tom McDonald, chief of surgery at Oakland's Kaiser Permanente Medical Center. But Helm broke into a fever Thursday, suggesting that he had an infection.

Longshoreman Buck Helm, who lived for more than a month after being trapped for days amid the collapsed Nimitz Freeway, probably died from widespread infection and the stress it placed on an already diseased heart, his doctor said Monday. Helm's death Saturday shocked the medical staff because he appeared to be improving last week, said Dr. Tom McDonald, chief of surgery at Oakland's Kaiser Permanente Medical Center. But Helm broke into a fever Thursday, suggesting that he had an infection.