Deputy died of natural causes at crime scene, examiner rules
A Harris County Sheriff's Office deputy who collapsed at the scene of a stabbing Saturday died of natural causes, medical examiners have ruled.
Omar Diaz, 39, suffered a pulmonary embolism, according to the ruling. He died at North Cypress Medical Center after doctors were unable to revive him.
Diaz was laying out crime scene tape outside a home in the 7500 block of Stone Pine Lane on Saturday morning when he collapsed. He was briefly able to speak with other deputies before he fell out of consciousness again on his way to the hospital.
According to the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences, Diaz’ pulmonary embolism was the result of deep vein thrombosis, in which a blood clot forms in a vein deep in the body, then travels to the lung and lodges there, blocking air flow. Deep vein thrombosis is almost always the cause of a pulmonary embolism.
A pulmonary embolism in a person’s 30s is not terribly common but it does happen, said Dr. Martha Mims, chief of hematology and oncology at Baylor College of Medicine. The risk goes up as people age, becoming more common after the age of 50, particularly in men, Mims said.
Deep vein thrombosis is commonly associated with prolonged immobility, such as sitting during long car rides or plane trips or being bedridden following injury or surgery. At greatest risk are people with a family history or inherited predisposition to blood clots.
Diaz began his career at the sheriff's office in 2009 as a detention officer and was most recently assigned to patrol in the Crossroads Park subdivision after graduating from the sheriff's office's basic peace officer's course last year.
He is survived by a wife and 7year-old daughter.
Services for Diaz are scheduled for Thursday at Champion Forest Baptist Church, 16518 Jersey Drive in Jersey Village. Viewing begins at 10 a.m. with the service at 11 a.m. Interment follows at Forest Park Lawndale, at 6900 Lawndale.