Like Natasha Richardson, could Billy Mays be a victim of head trauma?

June 28, 6:09 PMAtlanta Northside Family & Parenting ExaminerJackie Kass

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Billy Mays, 1958-2009

Update #2: According to the NY Daily News, the Tampa medical examiner has determined that Billy Mays most likely died of heart failure. His family and friends continue to be in our thoughts and prayers.

UPDATE: According to Laura McElroy, spokesperson for the Tampa Police Department, there was no evidence of foul play in Billy Mays' death. Billy Mays went to bed early on Saturday, June 27th, complaining of not feeling well, and did not wake up the following Sunday morning. His wife woke up, and discovered that her husband was not breathing. According to McElroy, any connection between Billy Mays' death and his flight aboard US Airways would be purely speculation. Billy Mays is survived by his wife, a 3-year-old daughter and a 20-year-old stepson.

Here is my original article:

Did Natasha Richardson and Billy Mays both suffer from fatal head injuries? While there is certainly no clear cause of death, it has been reported that Mays was in good health, other than he was to undergo a scheduled hip replacement surgery. So why did famous pitchman and father of two Billy Mays die so unexpectedly at the age of fifty?

On March 18, 2009, English stage and screen actress Natasha Richardson died after suffering a traumatic head injury while skiing in Canada. After what seemed like a minor fall, she got up laughing, but soon complained of a serious headache after returning to her hotel. She was pronounced brain dead after being transferred to Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. Natasha Richardson left behind two young children for her husband Liam Neeson to raise alone.

Famous infomercial pitchman Billy Mays passed away this morning. The 50-year-old was always so full of life and energy, pouring his heart and soul into pitching his home cleaning gadgets and products, like OxiClean, Orange-Glo, Kaboom and many others. He was always smiling, and at the height of his career and fortune with a new TV show on the Discovery Channel called Pitchmen.

MSNBC reported that Billy Mays was on a US Airways flight that experienced a rough landing, caused by a blown front tire. During an interview with Tampa Bay’s Fox TV affiliate, he told the reporter, “All of a sudden as we hit you know it was just the hardest hit, all the things from the ceiling started dropping. It hit me on the head, but I got a hard head.” It was also reported that Billy wasn’t feeling well when he went to bed last night sometime around 10:00 PM. In the morning, emergency workers rushed to his home, and pronounced him dead at 7:45 AM.

With no known cause of death, one has to wonder about a possible head trauma scenario. Like Natasha Richardson, Billy Mays did not experience any serious symptoms after a blow to his head. However, several hours later he complained of a headache, just like Natasha did after returning to her hotel. The circumstances seem eerily similar.

An autopsy is expected to be performed sometime tomorrow. In the meantime, the country mourns the death of a fourth celebrity in less than a week. Billy Mays and his antics will be missed.

Here are a few recent Tweets from the famous pitchman:

• “Just had a close call in Tampa. The tires blew out upon landing.” Stuck in the plane on the runway. You can always count of US Air.” – 12:01 PM, June 27th
• “Getting ready to fly back to Tampa from Philly. Monday is the big day (Hip replacement No. 3). Keep you posted.” – 7:40 AM, June 27th
• “Just got done with the Tonight Show. Had a great time. The episode airs tonight.” – 7:21 PM, June 23rd.

To view Billy’s TV interview with Fox, click here.

To view funny outtakes and Billy’s appearance on The Tonight Show, click here.

The speculation surrounding the cause of Billy Mays’ death once again brings to light the seriousness of head injuries, and the incessant need to wear helmets. Parents should insist that children wear helmets at ALL times, whether it is cool to do so or not. A serious head injury is definitely not cool, and can lead to dire consequences.

Related article:

• Pitch Man Billy Mays dead at age 50 - possible head injury on US Air flight
• Natasha Richardson’s death is a sad lesson for all parents
• Can parents learn from Natasha Richardson’s tragic accident?

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