Sun Princess passenger dies after pool incident off Italy
Stephen Junker suffered a severe spinal injury during a family wedding trip and was later flown to Minnesota for treatment.
Stephen Junker, 58, was aboard Sun Princess off the Italian coast to celebrate his son’s wedding when he fell into a swimming pool on Aug. 16 and nearly drowned, according to a GoFundMe page established by his family.
His family said he was discovered face down and unresponsive in the pool. The Italian Coast Guard transported him to a hospital in Naples, where he was admitted to intensive care.
Doctors identified severe compression of his spinal cord at the C3–C4 level of his neck, the family said. Junker underwent emergency surgery on Aug. 17 to relieve pressure on the spinal cord and stabilize the injured area. The injury left him quadriplegic and dependent on a ventilator to breathe.
On Aug. 23, Junker was transferred to Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, aboard a transatlantic medical evacuation flight. His family said they were later informed that his injuries could not be treated and that he died on Sept. 4 with relatives present. A separate account gave his date of death as Sept. 5.