ABC News producer Dax Tejera and wife left children alone for two hours before his heart attack

ABC News producer Dax Tejera and his wife left their young daughters alone for at least two hours before he suffered a fatal heart attack while the couple enjoyed dinner at an upscale New York City steakhouse.

The couple left their children, ages five months and two, in a hotel room at the exclusive Yale Club in Midtown Manhattan two days before Christmas.

The children were left alone for several hours while their parents ate dinner at Bobby Van’s Steakhouse at 230 Park Avenue, about a five-minute walk from the Yale Club.

Tejera, 37, suffered a heart attack moments after leaving the restaurant and was rushed to Bellevue Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

Verónica, 33, was traveling in the ambulance with her husband, while the couple’s friends went to the Yale Club to pick up the children.

Dax Tejera with his children and his wife Verónica, who was arrested for child endangerment hours after his death on December 23.

Veronica Tejera (right) was arrested by NYPD officers and charged with two counts of “acting in a manner injurious to a child” after her husband died of a heart attack.

But Yale Club staff called police around 11 p.m., after discovering the children had been left unattended for at least two hours.

Veronica was arrested by the NYPD around 12:20 am and charged with two counts of “acting in a manner injurious to a child.” The children, who were unharmed, stayed with her grandmother.

Veronica was released shortly after 4 am She has admitted it was a “bad decision” to leave her daughters alone. Her spokeswoman told DailyMail.com on Tuesday afternoon that she was planning her husband’s funeral and she would not comment further.

Police said the children were “left alone inside a hotel room for an extended period of time.”

Veronica, a senior producer for The Washington Post, has insisted the couple “had two cameras trained” on the children while they slept, but admitted it was a “bad decision” to leave them alone.

Bobby Van’s, where a steak and drinks dinner is about $200 a head, is a block from the Yale Club. A member of the restaurant’s staff told DailyMail.com on Tuesday afternoon that the Tejeras dined there the night Dax died.

The staff member said a colleague who was working that night saw Tejera collapse on the sidewalk outside the restaurant after the couple left.

In a statement released Monday night, Veronica Tejera said: “My family and I are devastated by the sudden passing of Dax. He has left behind a heartbroken family and two daughters whom he loved with all his heart.

‘When Dax collapsed on December 23, I accompanied him in an ambulance to the hospital. I asked a close friend and my parents to rush to my children’s hotel room to attend to them while I monitored them with a camera. The hotel wouldn’t let my friend in and called the NYPD instead.

“We had two cameras focused on my children while they slept, and I closely monitored them during the time I was away from them. While the girls were unharmed, I realize it was a bad decision.

Our family has suffered a terrible tragedy. I respectfully request privacy as my children and I mourn Dax’s death.

Tejera and his wife, Verónica, pictured together, went out to dinner in New York City while their children were left alone at the Yale Club.

Tejera with colleagues from ABC in a meeting with President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden

Veronica has been charged with two counts of ‘acting in a manner detrimental to a child’. She was given a desk ticket that will require her to appear in court at a future date, police said.

Veronica was mourning with her late husband’s family on Monday night.

The couple was celebrating the holidays in New York and had plans to visit friends and go to Rockefeller Center, it is understood.

New York police said they received a 911 call at 11 p.m. about “neglected children” at 50 Vanderbilt Avenue in Manhattan, home of the members-only Yale Club hotel.

They found that “a two-year-old girl and a five-month-old girl were left alone inside a hotel room for an extended period of time.” PD did not identify the children, but their ages are the same as Tejera’s daughters.

The Yale Club is an exclusive club for Yale University alumni. It includes rooms ranging from economy studios to 556-square-foot luxury suites.

The club also has luxury rooms for weddings and private events, along with a gym and a library.

Veronica’s LinkedIn profile currently lists her as a Senior Producer at the Washington Post, which she joined in October 2022. Prior to that, she spent nearly six years at CNN. Her profile indicates that her accomplishments there include producing an interview with President Joe Biden on The Lead with Jake Tapper.

Now he has launched a fundraiser for the Tejera children’s 529 college account. A link to the donations page, created through Fidelity Investments, is included in her Instagram bio.

Verónica Tejera, accused of two counts of ‘acting in a manner detrimental to a child’, has asked for support to pay for her daughters’ college savings plan after the death of her husband.

The page reads: ‘Dax Tejera passed away suddenly, leaving 2-year-old Sofía and 6-month-old Ella without their father. Please support the girl’s education.’