Man Attacked in Hospital Room Dies

RIVERSIDE — A patient who was attacked last week by a hospital roommate at Riverside General has died, hospital officials said Saturday.

Manuel Alcarez, 53, was in a coma when he was attacked Tuesday by Steven Dale Halsey, 25, who had been admitted to the hospital because of head injuries when he was thrown from his car during a traffic accident.

Officials said Halsey ripped out Alcarez’s intravenous needles and then bit off his penis. A field sobriety test by California Highway Patrol officers indicated that Halsey was under the influence of PCP, according to CHP records.

Hospital officials would not say whether the attack contributed to the death of Alcarez on Friday. Family members said he had emigrated from Mexicali, Mexico, to work as a farm laborer before he fell ill.