Celebration of life and memorial services were held for Scruggs in late December, and little information has been released on the conditions of his death beyond what has been reported by his coworkers who have begun to come forward to the committee’s investigation.
Dr. Stephanie Zhang of the Fulton County Medical Examiner’s Office writes: “It is my opinion that Russell Scruggs, Jr. died as a result of heart failure due to hypertensive cardiovascular disease. Autopsy examination reveals that, although there was a laceration to the back of the head, there was no injury to the skull or brain. Internal examination reveals a massively enlarged heart with a thickened left and right ventricular walls and a dilated left ventricle. These findings are evidence of his heart failure and hypertension. Along with the reported circumstances, it is likely that Mr. Scruggs sustained a cardiac event after which he was witnessed going unresponsive and… falling and hitting his head. The laceration of the head did not contribute to death. The manner of death is classified as natural.”
While the manner of death can medically be classified as “natural,” the circumstances leading up to Russell’s death were entirely preventable, according to multiple accounts from his coworkers who were with him that day.
