Overview
- Deputy Levi Vargas, 30, suffered a medical emergency during the Baker to Vegas relay on Saturday and later died after receiving care and hospital transport.
- Following Monday’s procession, his body traveled from the San Dimas fire station to Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Covina as colleagues and community members lined the route.
- Sheriff Robert Luna said medics responded on course and took Vargas to a local hospital, where his condition declined hours later, and an autopsy will determine a cause.
- The Baker to Vegas Challenge Cup is a 20-stage, 120-mile race from Baker, California, to the Las Vegas Strip, with weekend highs reaching about 92°F in Las Vegas during this year’s event.
- LASD said Vargas joined the department in 2015 and most recently served at the San Dimas station, and ABC7 reported this is the first competitor death in the race’s history since 1985.