Drugs not a factor in death of Corey Haim, coroner says

LOS ANGELES - Actor Corey Haim died from pneumonia complicated by an enlarged heart, bad lungs and narrowed blood vessels, while drugs found in his system played no role in his death, the Los Angeles County coroner said yesterday.

Haim, 38, died of natural causes from "community-acquired pneumonia" along with lung, heart and blood vessel problems, according to an autopsy report.

Low levels of eight drugs, including both prescription and over-the-counter medications, were found in his system along with marijuana, coroner's spokesman Craig Harvey said.

"But nothing was at a level that would have contributed to his death," Harvey said.

Haim, who had struggled with drug problems throughout his life, died March 10 after collapsing in his mother's apartment. Haim was ill with flulike symptoms before his death, and police said he was taking over-the-counter and prescription medications.

"The pneumonia is what killed him," Harvey said.

California Attorney General Jerry Brown said in April that Haim employed "doctor shopping" to obtain 553 prescription pills in the two months before his death. Brown called Haim - the star of 1980s films such as "The Lost Boys" and "License to Drive" - a poster child for prescription drug abuse. He said Haim obtained powerful sedatives such as Valium and Xanax and painkillers such as Vicodin and Oxycontin.

However, no Oxycontin was found in his body, Harvey said. He noted that Haim's heart was abnormally large and factored in his death. "His heart was 530 grams. The average normal heart weighs 300 grams," Harvey said.

Haim also had damaged lungs and arteriosclerosis of his coronary arteries, with some vessels 50-percent and even 75-percent blocked.