Man dies after collapse in Riverside County jail

Authorities say an inmate was declared dead after being found with a serious cut Christmas morning in his cell at a Riverside County jail, but it was later found he had suffered a medical problem and cut himself as he collapsed.

The Sheriff’s Department said in a statement Thursday that the 52-year-old man’s cellmate at the Larry D. Smith Correctional Facility in Banning called for medical help early Wednesday morning.

Deputies and medics found the man unresponsive with a major cut, and he was taken by a ambulance to a hospital where he was declared dead.

Investigators found that he had suffered a “significant medical event” that caused him to fall and injure himself.

They gave no further details, and the man’s name was withheld because relatives hadn’t been notified.