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ABC News Producer Dax Tejera’s Cause of Death Revealed
New details on Dax Tejera‘s passing have been disclosed.
A little more than a month after the ABC News producer died at the age of 37, the New York City Office of Chief Medical Examiner confirms to E! News that his cause of death was “asphyxia due to obstruction of airway by food bolus complicating acute alcohol intoxication.”
Tejera’s manner of death, according to the Chief Medical Examiner Office, has been ruled an accident.
In late December, the network’s president, Kim Godwin, confirmed Tejera passed away in a memo to staff, per The Hollywood Reporter. In her Dec. 24 message, she shared the executive producer—who is survived by wife Veronica and their two daughters Sofia, 2, and Ella, 7 months—suffered a heart attack the day before.
“As EP of This Week with George Stephanopoulos, Dax’s energy, passion and love for that show, ABC News, and you, shined every Sunday morning,” Godwin wrote, according to the publication. “That same love was extended to his precious girls.”
Amid his sudden death, Tejera’s wife Veronica was charged with two counts of endangering the welfare of a child. In early January, an NYPD spokesperson confirmed to E! News that officers responded to a 911 call at 11 p.m. on Dec. 23, reporting “unattended children” who were left alone, adding, “The mother was placed in custody and charged.”
Shortly after police confirmed the charges, Veronica shared her side of the events that happened that night.
“When Dax collapsed on December 23rd, I accompanied him in an ambulance to the hospital,” she said in a Jan. 3 statement to Entertainment Tonight. “I asked both a close friend and my parents to rush to my children’s hotel room to attend to them as I monitored them by camera. The hotel would not allow my friend in and instead called the NYPD.”
The 33-year-old explained, “We had two cameras trained on my children as they slept, and I monitored them closely in the time I was away from them. While the girls were unharmed, I realize that it was a poor decision.”
Veronica went on to call her loss a “terrible tragedy.”
“My family and I are devastated by Dax’s sudden passing,” she said. “He has left behind a heartbroken family, and two daughters he loved with all his heart.”
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