‘His Heart Just Stopped’: NJ Family Mourns Rookie Officer Who Died Suddenly While Exercising

A family and a New Jersey community are grieving the loss of a young policeman who died of cardiac arrest on July 23.

Twenty-three-year-old Sam Irvin collapsed as he ran sprints outside at his fiancé’s family’s farm in Columbus, Fox 29 reported Thursday, noting he had an enlarged heart, which was revealed in the autopsy.

“His heart just stopped, and they said it happened within seconds, so he didn’t feel pain,” his fiancé, Mackenzie Santucci, explained, adding it was an extremely traumatic day.

In a social media post on Friday, Santucci wrote,”I miss you more and more everyday Sam Irvin.”

On July 25, the Mansfield Township Police Department announced the tragic loss, noting, “Sam was not only a colleague, he was a brother and a friend.”

“It is difficult to write this because we are all at a loss for words. We are trying our hardest to honor him in the best way we can, but nothing we do will amount to the Man, Expectant Father, Fiancé, Brother, Son, and Friend that Samuel Irvin was,” the department said.

The young man was in excellent physical shape and never dealt with any health issues, per his family.

In a social media post July 7, Santucci told her loved ones the couple was engaged, also announcing Sam had graduated from the police academy.

“I am so proud of him,” she wrote:

As of Friday afternoon, a GoFundMe page created to support the couple’s unborn baby has raised $90,090 of its $40,000 goal.

“This will help with any future medical bills. Sam was so excited to be a dad and support his family. Let us come together and give back to the man who gave so much to others,” the page reads.

“Let’s lift Mackenzie and the Irvin family, honor Sam’s legacy and show them they’re not alone,” it added.

Santucci told Fox 29 she is 11 weeks pregnant, “So I get to carry a little piece of him my whole life.”