By Joanna Putman
Police1
PALM COAST, Fla. — A man applying to become a Flager County Sheriff’s Office recruit felt ill during a physical abilities test. He died shortly after being transported to a hospital, the Daytona Beach News-Journal reported.
Austin Ross, 26, sat to rest after feeling light-headed during the test, according to the report. Test administrators immediately called the fire department, who placed Ross in an ambulance and transported him to a hospital.
On the way to the hospital, Ross lost his pulse, according to the report. Medics were able to resuscitate Ross in the ambulance, but he later died after arriving at the hospital.
The physical abilities test was described as an endurance test, according to the report. It involved exiting a vehicle and opening the trunk, running 220 yards, completing an obstacle course, dragging a 150-pound dummy, dry firing a weapon six times with each hand, placing items in a trunk and entering a vehicle.
The obstacle course demands participants to complete multiple tasks: scaling a wall 40 inches in height, sprinting, crawling and leaping over three hurdles of 24, 12 and 18 inches in height, respectively, each placed five feet apart.
“Here he is, he has a dream to be a law enforcement officer,” said Flagler County Sheriff’s Office Chief of Staff Mark Strobridge. “This is the very first step and this horrific tragedy happens. It’s tragic for their family and our hearts and prayers go out to them. The sheriff knowing that his dream was to be a law enforcement officer, he wants to make him an honorary deputy.”