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ABC News Executive Producer Dax Tejera’s cause of death was disclosed two months following his demise in December 2022.
The official details from the New York City Office of the Chief Medical Examiner stated that it was an accidental death. The cause of death has been stated to be asphyxia resulting from obstruction of the airway due to food bolus complicating acute alcohol intoxication.
Earlier, ABC News president Kim Godwin stated that a heart attack was the cause behind Tejera’s death. However, ABC News is yet to respond on the same.
Food Bolus: Causes, prevention, and more
Food bolus refers to a semi-solid mass of food not linked to a hard or sharp foreign body. Food bolus can be identified in those who have severe pain in the neck and chest along with tachycardia, tachypnoea, and surgical emphysema, hinting at an actual or impending oesophageal perforation. It is common in those who previously suffered from dysphagia/food bolus obstruction.
The problem leads to oesophageal perforation and mediastinitis because of an unexpected sharp element or if it has been lodged for some time. Continuous instances of dysphagia and bolus obstruction can be a presentation of oesophageal stricture, benign or malignant.
Hospitals have certain rules for those who are suffering from food boluses. Medical treatment should not be delayed in the hope that drugs will cure the problem, and if the food bolus does not pass in a few hours, it might need some intervention.
The first thing to do in this case is to check if the airway has been compromised. This can be assessed if the patient is not having trouble breathing or is speaking normally. Sometimes, patients cannot swallow saliva and fluids, while other times, they also spit their saliva.
Coming to medical treatment, a glucagon of 1-2 mg can be given to relax the lower oesophageal sphincter. The next is five doses of Buscopan every 30 minutes. Other procedures include prokinetics like erythromycin, domperidone, or metoclopramide.
Dax Tejera passed away on December 23, 2022
Dax Tejera died on December 23, 2022, and was 37 years old at the time of death. ABC News President Kim Godwin paid tribute to Tejera through a memo that stated,
“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. That same love was extended to his precious girls. Our thoughts are with his wife, Veronica, the couple’s two young daughters, and the entire Tejera family.”
Shortly after Tejera's passing, it was reported that his wife Veronica had left their children alone at the hotel they were staying at. Veronica was arrested for the same, and she later admitted in an interview with Entertainment Tonight that she had made a poor decision.
According to Veronica, her husband Dax Tejera collapsed and she went with him while he was being transported to the hospital. Although she had asked her parents and a friend to go to the children, the hotel refused the friend entry and instead called the NYPD. Meanwhile, since two cameras were monitoring her children, Veronica Tejera saw that they slept while she was away and were unharmed.
Dax Tejera’s stint as the producer of This Week with George Stephanopoulos made the show quite popular. He was previously a senior producer for ABC News, an executive producer on Fusion, and a producer on MSNBC.
