The Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Office has released additional details regarding the September 17 custody-related death of a former inmate who lost consciousness hours after being booked into the county’s Northern Branch Jail and died two and a half weeks later in the hospital. The Coroner’s Bureau ruled the death of the former inmate, 40-year-old Santa Maria resident Antonio Alvarado Orozco, an accident.
Orozco was arrested on August 29 on a felony warrant for violation of probation and assault with force likely to cause great bodily injury.
Orozco was seen losing consciousness and falling over just hours after being taken into custody and cleared by employees of Wellpath, the jail’s healthcare provider. It was later determined that Orozco suffered from a seizure that resulted in the fall, according to a press release from the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office. The cause of the seizure remains unclear.
Orozco was quickly transported to Marion Hospital, where he underwent emergency surgery. While it was previously reported that Orozco did not regain consciousness at the hospital, the Sheriff’s Office later learned that Orozco did gain consciousness and begin rehabilitation following his surgery. His condition declined over time, however, and Orozco died on September 17 after being in the hospital for 19 days.
The Coroner’s Bureau determined the accidental death was caused by complications of blunt force trauma to the head, which Orozco hit on the ground when he fell.
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