RIVERSIDE, Calif. -- Janet Gaynor's death resulted from a 1982 traffic accident in San Francisco that killed one person and injured three others, including Gaynor and her good friend Mary Martin, the Riverside County Coroner's Office said Friday.
'The death was the direct result of complications which occurred from her injuries during the traffic accident,' Chief Deputy Coroner Carl Smith said, adding that the ruling had been entered on her death certificate.
Gaynor, who won the first best actress Oscar, died Sept. 14 at Desert Hospital in Palm Springs. She was 77.
The District Attorney's Office in San Francisco said it was awaiting the results of a meeting Friday between Coroner Boyd Stephens and the Riverside County Coroner's Office.
Smith said after the meeting that Stephens concurred with the findings that showed Gaynor had died from injuries caused by the traffic accident. The San Francisco coroner was expected to report his findings to the District Attorney's Office next week, Smith said.
Stephens also examined the hospital records in Gaynor's last illness and death, San Francisco Administrative Coroner Joseph Surdyka said.
The District Attorney's Office said it wanted more information before it decides if the man responsible for the accident, Robert Cato, should be charged in her death.
He was scheduled for parole from a three-year prison term for drunken driving and vehicle manslaughter.
Cato drove a van that collided with the taxi carrying Martin, Gaynor and her husband, Paul Gregory, and Martin's manager, Ben Washer. Washer was killed.
Gaynor's injuries were the most serious, including 11 broken ribs, several pelvic fractures and major kidney and bladder damage.
