National City

An unidentified man who may have been under the influence of hallucinogenic drugs stopped breathing and died early Sunday in the back seat of a police patrol car.

Upon arriving at the police station at 2:07 a.m., police transporting the 29-year-old Latino opened the door to the back seat of their patrol car and discovered that he had stopped breathing, Deputy Coroner Dan Matticks, said.

Police began cardiopulmonary resuscitation, which was continued by paramedics who arrived minutes later, Matticks said. The man was transported to Paradise Valley Hospital, where doctors opened his chest to perform cardiac massage, Matticks said. The man was pronounced dead at 3:03 a.m.

The incident began when a police officer who had stopped a vehicle at the intersection 43rd St. and the Interstate 805 on-off ramp observed a man running northbound in the middle of 43rd Street, said Officer Randal Triviz.

Triviz said that the man “displayed symptoms of being under the influence of a hallucinogenic drug” but offered no specifics. Matticks, who said he was briefed on the situation by National City Police Captain Chuck Milke, said the man was running down the street shouting. Several officers pursued him and caught him on 43rd Street, between Boston and Z streets in San Diego.

Matticks, who viewed the man’s body in the Paradise Valley emergency room Sunday morning, said there were no visible signs of trauma. The cause of death has not been determined pending a toxicology examination. The man’s identity was withheld until next of kin could be notified. His last known address was in Chula Vista, Matticks said.