Tejano icon Emilio Navaira dead at 53

TEXAS - Police in New Braunfels report that Tejano music icon Emilio Navaira died at the age of 53 Monday night.

KVUE's sister station in Houston said the San Antonio native reportedly suffered a "massive heart attack," but the New Braunfels Police Department said a final determination on the cause of death will be made following an autopsy.

According to a statement from NBPD, Navaira was found unconscious and not breathing by family members at a residence in the 6300 block of Myrtle Run in New Braunfels. Medics took him to a hospital where he was pronounced dead.

The Grammy Award winner is widely credited with introducing Tejano music into the mainstream in the 1990s, KHOU said. He became one of Tejano's biggest stars during that time, alongside Selena and La Mafia.

Many fans are taking to Twitter and Facebook to thank him for "inspiring" youth to achieve their dreams.

Navaira was the last Tejano act to play at Rodeo Houston back in 2007 in front of a crowd of nearly 70,000 fans. One year after that, he nearly died when his tour bus crashed in Houston.

The 2008 crash made headlines as Navaira was behind the wheel and was ejected through the windshield. He later pleaded guilty to a drunken driving charge.