Mississippi High School Football Player Collapses in Game, Dies
EmailA Mississippi high school football player died Friday night after he collapsed on the field and could not be revived, at least the seventh high school athlete to die since the start of football season last month.
Latrell Dunbar, a junior fullback for D’Iberville High School, fell to the ground after blocking a play in the third quarter of the school’s game in Gautier, ABC affiliate WLOX-TV.
Trainers rushed onto the field and applied mouth-to-mouth, working frantically to revive him for the 15 minutes it took for an ambulance to arrive at the game. Dunbar was then taken to Ocean Springs Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 10:20 p.m.
Jackson County Coroner Vicki Broadus said today that Dunbar died of an acute cardiac event, which can be caused by hidden heart abnormalities. In this case, though, according to WLOX, she said it was a fluke event.
This appears to be tied for the second most lethal summer for young football players, according to records compiled by the National Center for Catastrophic Sport Injury Research. There were eight deaths in 1970, according to the center’s records.
From 1980 to 1984, an average of one high school football player died each year during the summer practice season. But the death rate has roughly tripled to 2.8 deaths per since then, according to a study released in July by the Union of Concerned Scientists.
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Poor kid. My condolences to his family and friends………
Posted by: SearamblerOne | September 10, 2011 September 10, 2011, 4:23 pm
That’s really sad. My prayers are with his family. He’s playing with God now.
Posted by: LoveCrazyBeautifulLife | September 10, 2011 September 10, 2011, 6:07 pm
15 minutes!?! Shouldn’t there be an ambulance parked there at each game?
Posted by: Donald | September 10, 2011 September 10, 2011, 8:27 pm
We had paramedics and an ambulance at every single football game my high school ever had and at every high school football game I have ever attended. I just assumed that was normal. I send the families the deepest sympathy on the loss of their precious son and hope that schools (especially in the hotter areas of the country) realize that paramedics or at least defibrillator machine can be vital in situations like these.
Posted by: david | September 10, 2011 September 10, 2011, 8:42 pm
It’s strange to me that there isn’t an ambulance at high school sporting events, especially full contact sporting events. I grew up In Illinois and the IHSA required an ambulance at every HSIt’s strange to me that there isn’t an ambulance at high school sporting events, especially full contact sporting events. I grew up In Illinois and the IHSA required an ambulance at every HS sport events including volleyball, baseball and track and field. Even though these are not contact sports young athletes will push themselves beyond their bodies capabilities. Any of these sports can cause broken bones or dehydration.
I was wrestling at a regular meet and we couldn’t start until the ambulance arrived. I remember playing baseball and the paramedics were sitting on the hill smoking cigarettes watching the game with their ambulance sitting behind them.
I find it neglectful on the part of the coaches, schools and the state of Mississippi not to have medical attention on hand especially considering how professional athletes and the NFL, in particular, are doing their best to raise awareness to sport related injuries.
Posted by: Duncan | September 11, 2011 September 11, 2011, 9:06 am
“Jackson County Coroner Vicki Broadus said today that Dunbar died of an acute cardiac event.” —– How often do they tell that lie? You put kids in heavy padding and expect them to run in high temperatures with little cool off time and little hydration. Of course they’re going to have a “cardiac event.” Off the feild it would be called heat stroke. OSHA would not allow a grown man to work under under those conditions. It’s not even allowed for a convict in prison or a prisoner of war. Another young man sacrificed to the stadium gods.
My condolences to the family and friends. May he rest in peace.
Posted by: oonogil | September 11, 2011 September 11, 2011, 10:28 am
The ambulance probably had to come from Pascagoula which is about 15 minutes away.
Posted by: oonogil | September 11, 2011 September 11, 2011, 10:35 am
Acadian Ambulance was at the field, as they are for all games. This article has the facts wrong. It may have taken some time to maneuver the ambulance onto the field, but there are ambulances and paramedics at every high school football game in Mississippi.
Posted by: CHJ | September 11, 2011 September 11, 2011, 5:23 pm
I was wondering if they knew if he had taken any caffeine pills or dirnks. This seems to be something that football players feel they need to have. My son recently got in trouble at school for taking caffeine pills. These are targeted to teens and they can all buy them. They even have jelly beans. I think if they are not used to taking caffeine and drink a red bull or take the pills then go out in the hot sun and over exert themselves, this could cause big problems. Just wondering if there are any ties or if it has been looked into?
Posted by: elizabeth grant | September 13, 2011 September 13, 2011, 4:26 pm