Auto passenger dies in Santa Clara after police traffic stop

A passenger in a vehicle that was stopped by police in Santa Clara over the weekend died after suffering a medical emergency during the stop, police said.

The incident began at about 10:15 p.m. in the area of Central Expressway and Corvin Drive at the Sunnyvale city limit. The Santa Clara Police Department said in a press release on Wednesday that a patrol officer observed a violation involving a vehicle with two occupants and conducted a traffic stop. 

After being pulled over, police said both the driver and passenger got out of the vehicle and followed the officer's commands while on the side of the road. No force was used during the contact with the occupants, police said.

Moments later, the passenger of the vehicle had a medical emergency at the scene, police said. The man was provided immediate first aid until Santa Clara Fire Department medics arrived to continue life-saving measures, the press statement said. 

The man was taken to a hospital, where he was later pronounced deceased, police said.

The department notified the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office in accordance with officer-involved incident protocol, and the agencies are conducting a joint investigation. Police said the department expects to provide further updates as the investigation progresses.

Anyone with information about the incident was asked to contact Detective Sgt. A. Wilson at 408-615-4806 or atawilson@santaclaraca.gov.