ABC News producer Dax Tejera died in December from choking on food while intoxicated ― not from a heart attack as originally reported, officials told People on Wednesday.
Tejera, 37, was stricken on Dec. 23 from “asphyxia due to obstruction of airway by food bolus complicating acute alcohol intoxication,” the New York City Office of Chief Medical Examiner told the outlet.
ABC News president Kim Godwin informed staff in the immediate aftermath that Tejera, an executive producer on “This Week,” had died of a heart attack.
ABC declined to comment on the latest development.
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Tejera, who joined “This Week” in 2020, sparked a ratings jump among Sunday public affairs programs for the show, headlined by George Stephanopoulos. He “had big plans and big dreams that were just beginning to be fulfilled,” co-anchor Jonathan Karl said in December.
The producer left behind a legal dilemma for his wife Veronica, and their 2-year-old daughter and infant daughter.
On the night of his death, Veronica Tejera was arrested for “acting in a manner injurious to a child” because the Tejeras left the children unattended in their Manhattan hotel room while dining out. A staffer at Bobby Van’s restaurant said Tejera appeared unwell at the table and a waiter followed the producer as he walked out the front door, the New York Post reported.
Veronica Tejera told “Entertainment Tonight” she made a “poor decision” and unsuccessfully tried to arrange supervision as the emergency unfolded. She said she was monitoring the children via a camera.