Inmate With ‘Preexisting Medical Conditions’ Dies
A 57-year-old Huntington Beach man serving time at Orange County Jail for drunk driving died early Wednesday after a nurse found him not breathing in his medical ward bed, sheriff’s officials said.
Authorities did not release the name of the inmate Wednesday, pending notification of his family, but said that he had “numerous preexisting medical conditions” and had been booked directly into the medical ward on Jan. 24.
Sheriff’s Lt. Ron Wilkerson said jail officials declined to disclose the man’s medical conditions, citing patient confidentiality.
The man was serving a 300-day sentence for outstanding drunk-driving bench warrants, Wilkerson said.
A nurse discovered that the man was not breathing when she made a routine check at 1:55 a.m. Wednesday. Jail medical staff administered life-saving techniques until paramedics arrived and took him to Western Medical Center-Santa Ana. He was pronounced dead there.
As is routine, the Orange County district attorney’s office will investigate the death, Wilkerson said.
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