Current:Home > StocksLos Angeles high school football player hurt during game last month dies from brain injury -WealthMindset Learning
Los Angeles high school football player hurt during game last month dies from brain injury
Rekubit Exchange View
Date:2025-04-08 17:04:47
A Southern California teenager critically hurt last month during a high school football game died this week from his injuries, the boy's loved ones and school officials announced.
Christopher Garcia, a 16-year-old junior at South Gate High School in Los Angeles, died after suffering a brain injury during an Aug. 23 home game, a Los Angeles Unified School District spokesperson confirmed to USA TODAY on Friday.
“I am saddened to report the recent death of one of our students," the school's principal Eric Jaimes announced Wednesday in a message sent to the school community. "On behalf of our entire school community, I want to offer my deepest condolences ... Every member of the South East High School community matters and this loss impacts us all."
Garcia was hurt during a tackle during a junior varsity game, local KTLV-TV reported, and taken by ambulance to a local hospital.
At the time of the incident there were two medical personnel on site, the district spokesperson told USA TODAY. The district, they confirmed, requires the home team to have an EMT or athletic trainer on site before the game begins.
Jaimes said the district was offering crisis counselors to students.
Teen football player deaths:A Kansas high school football player dies from a medical emergency. It's the 3rd case this month.
'A vibrant and passionate young man'
The teen's family described Garcia as “a vibrant and passionate young man who brought joy and energy to everyone around him," according to an online fundraiser created to help his family with funeral expenses. "As a dedicated high school football player, he was known for his enthusiasm on and off the field. Beyond his athletic talents, Christopher was a loving son, sibling, and a loyal friend.”
"This unexpected loss has left a profound impact on their family," Jennifer Guadamuz, who created the fundraiser on Wednesday, wrote. "We’re coming together to support them during this incredibly challenging time."
As of Friday, more than 300 people had raised nearly $18,000 of a requested $40,000 goal to help the family, and funeral arrangements were pending.
Two other teen football players die from injuries
Garcia's death comes less than two weeks after two other similar tragedies.
At Morgan Academy in Selma, Alabama, high school quarterback Caden Tellier died Aug. 24, one day after suffering a brain injury during the team's season home opener, according to reporting by the Montgomery Advertiser, a part of the USA TODAY Network. Tellier was a 16-year-old junior.
And on Aug. 20 in West Virginia, Madison Middle School eight-grader Cohen Craddock died one day after being injured in football practice.
Joseph Smith, executive director of the Boone County Ambulance Authority, told local news station WSAZ-TV that the player had sustained a head injury.
Why isn't Rashee Rice suspended?What we know about Chiefs WR's legal situation
UNC research institute: 11 football players have died since July 1, 2024
Since July 1, 11 middle and high school football players have died across the nation, with nine related to football, Randi DeLong, spokesperson for the National Center for Catastrophic Sport Injury told USA TODAY on Friday.
The research institute based in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, also captures sudden cardiac arrest events outside of sports − for example when they take place during sleep, at rest, or during personal athletic activity, DeLong said.
Last year, the center reported, 16 football players ranging from youth leagues to the collegiate level died for reasons including traumatic injuries on the field to activities not related to football.
Contributing: Fernando Cervantes Jr., USA TODAY; Marty Roney, Montgomery Advertiser
Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at [email protected] and follow her on X @nataliealund.
veryGood! (47)
Related
- Could your smelly farts help science?
- Inside Clean Energy: Three Charts that Show the Energy Transition in 50 States
- Inside Clean Energy: In California, the World’s Largest Battery Storage System Gets Even Larger
- Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Officially Move Out of Frogmore Cottage
- Trump wants to turn the clock on daylight saving time
- A Climate-Driven Decline of Tiny Dryland Lichens Could Have Big Global Impacts
- How America's largest newspaper company is leaving behind news deserts
- Activists Deplore the Human Toll and Environmental Devastation from Russia’s Unprovoked War of Aggression in Ukraine
- See you latte: Starbucks plans to cut 30% of its menu
- Billions in USDA Conservation Funding Went to Farmers for Programs that Were Not ‘Climate-Smart,’ a New Study Finds
Ranking
- Sonya Massey's father decries possible release of former deputy charged with her death
- Alabama lawmakers approve new congressional maps without creating 2nd majority-Black district
- How a Successful EPA Effort to Reduce Climate-Warming ‘Immortal’ Chemicals Stalled
- Conservation has a Human Rights Problem. Can the New UN Biodiversity Plan Solve it?
- Warm inflation data keep S&P 500, Dow, Nasdaq under wraps before Fed meeting next week
- Netflix will end its DVD-by-mail service
- White House to establish national monument honoring Emmett Till
- Doctors are drowning in paperwork. Some companies claim AI can help
Recommendation
EU countries double down on a halt to Syrian asylum claims but will not yet send people back
Now on Hold, Georgia’s Progressive Program for Rooftop Solar Comes With a Catch
Kourtney Kardashian Blasts Intolerable Kim Kardashian's Greediness Amid Feud
Facebook users can apply for their portion of a $725 million lawsuit settlement
North Carolina trustees approve Bill Belichick’s deal ahead of introductory news conference
Why Tia Mowry Says Her 2 Kids Were Part of Her Decision to Divorce Cory Hardrict
How One Native American Tribe is Battling for Control Over Flaring
Gen Z is the most pro union generation alive. Will they organize to reflect that?
Tags
Like
- 'Survivor' 47 finale, part one recap: 2 players were sent home. Who's left in the game?
- Illinois Now Boasts the ‘Most Equitable’ Climate Law in America. So What Will That Mean?
- Phoenix residents ration air conditioning, fearing future electric bills, as record-breaking heat turns homes into air fryers