Austin Toros coach Dennis Johnson dies
Thursday, February 22, 2007, 03:00 PM
Austin Toros basketball coach Dennis Wayne Johnson, 52, has died, officials said. Johnson, a five-time NBA All-Star guard who won NBA titles with Seattle and Boston, was taken by ambulance to Brackenridge Hospital after apparently falling ill at the Austin Convention Center today.
Warren Hassinger, spokesman for Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services, said paramedics responded to a call at the Austin Convention Center at 12:13 p.m. today.
Johnson was in an exhibit hall when paramedics arrived and was in cardiac arrest, said Hassinger, who would only describe the EMS response but declined to identify the patient.
Emergency workers tried at the scene to resuscitate Johnson for more than 20 minutes before taking him to Brackenridge Hospital, where hospital workers declared him dead a short time later.
Johnson was on teams that won three NBA titles, including the 1979 Seattle Sonics team and the 1984 and 1986 Boston Celtics teams.
