By C1 Staff
AMARILLO, Texas — A man hoping to become a Texas Department of Criminal Justice correctional officer collapsed and died during training.
CBS News reports that John Teel, 44, was walking around an Amarillo College East Campus gym area to warm up when he suffered a medical emergency.
“Staff that was there immediately began life-saving measures,” TDCJ Director of Public Information Jason Clark said. “They called EMS, the ambulance and fire department. They quickly arrived and began life-saving measures, but unfortunately the gentleman did pass away.”
TDCJ asserted that it was not the training that caused Teel’s death.
“It’s believed he had some sort of medical type of emergency there at Amarillo College,” Clark said. “Again, they had not really begun any major physical activity. They had just started and were essentially warming up, so they were slowly walking around the track whenever Teel collapsed.”
The college has denied any involvement in the incident other than allowing the use of their property.
It’s unclear if there will be an investigation into the cause of Teel’s death.