Current:Home > Finance15-year-old Kansas football player’s death is blamed on heat -InvestPioneer
15-year-old Kansas football player’s death is blamed on heat
View
Date:2025-04-15 02:43:04
MISSION, Kan. (AP) — Outdoor conditioning while a heat advisory was in effect during the humid summer left 15-year-old football player Ovet Gomez Regalado pale and asking for water.
After a 15-minute exercise, he collapsed as he walked to a building at his suburban Kansas City high school and died two days later of heatstroke, the medical examiner’s office wrote this month in a report that followed a weekslong investigation.
That makes Regalado the latest in a series of teen football players to succumb to heat-related illnesses during searing temperatures and high humidity.
The Johnson County, Kansas, medical examiner’s report said the temperature on the fateful Aug. 14 afternoon was 92 F (33.3 C). National Weather Service data shows temperatures rising over the the two-hour period that Regalado collapsed, from the mid-80s to around 90.
The high humidity made it feel much hotter, though.
Obesity also contributed to his death; Regalado weighed 384 pounds (174.2 kilograms) and had sickle cell trait. People with the trait are more likely to have problems when their body needs extra oxygen, as happens in extreme heat and after intense exercise.
Jeremy Holaday, assistant executive director of the Kansas State High School Activities Association, said only weights and conditioning activities had been permitted since it was still preseason.
“To our knowledge that is what was taking place,” Holaday said.
He said the association recommends using a wet-bulb globe thermometer to monitor heat, and a chart on the association’s website recommends when outdoor activities should be alerted or halted altogether based on the readings. The metric is considered the best way to measure heat stress since it includes ambient air temperature, humidity, direct sunlight and wind.
The heat and humidity figures listed in the medical examiner report, when plotted on the association’s chart, suggest it was too hot for outdoor workouts. But the slightly lower temps the National Weather Service reported were on the cusp.
The situation was complicated by the fact that temperatures were rising.
Because Regalado’s death followed an offseason workout, the district oversaw the investigation, rather than the activities association. The district said in a statement that staff acted in accordance with association rules and school emergency action protocols.
After Regalado collapsed, ice bags were used to cool him down, the medical examiner’s report said. But his body temperature was 104.6 F (40.3 C) when emergency medical services arrived. They used several rounds of ice buckets and managed to lower his temperature to 102 F (38.9 C) before rushing him to a hospital. He went into multisystem organ failure and died two days later, according to the report.
“For all those who knew and loved Ovet, this report reopens the painful wounds that came as a result of his premature death,” the district said in a statement. “His absence is deeply felt in the Northwest community, and nowhere more profoundly than by his family, including his brother, who continues to attend Northwest.”
David Smith, the district spokesperson, declined to say Thursday whether Regalado had completed a student physical. Smith said the physicals were due when regular season practice started Aug. 19, five days after he collapsed. Smith said he wasn’t able to comment further out of respect to the family’s privacy.
The Shawnee police department also conducted its own investigation, which was closed with no further action taken, said Emily Rittman, the city’s public safety information officer.
veryGood! (38)
Related
- Biden administration makes final diplomatic push for stability across a turbulent Mideast
- At 17, she found out she was autistic. It's a story that's becoming more common. Here's why.
- Judge denies requests to limit evidence ahead of armorer’s trial in fatal ‘Rust’ shooting
- NYC trial scrutinizing lavish NRA spending under Wayne LaPierre nears a close
- Romantasy reigns on spicy BookTok: Recommendations from the internet’s favorite genre
- American Idol Alum Alex Miller’s Tour Bus Involved in Fatal Crash
- 'Heartbroken': Travis Kelce, Patrick Mahomes, Chiefs players react to shooting
- Hiker kills rabid coyote with his bare hands after attack in New England woods
- As Trump Enters Office, a Ripe Oil and Gas Target Appears: An Alabama National Forest
- Ex-officer acquitted of assault in 2020 encounter with racial injustice protester in Philadelphia
Ranking
- Appeals court scraps Nasdaq boardroom diversity rules in latest DEI setback
- One dead, 21 wounded amid shots fired into crowd after Kansas City Chiefs rally: Live updates
- Selma Blair apologizes for Islamophobic comments, participating in 'hate and misinformation'
- Kyle Richards & Mauricio Umansky's Marriage Cracks Are Clearer Than Ever in Bleak RHOBH Preview
- Juan Soto praise of Mets' future a tough sight for Yankees, but World Series goal remains
- Australia's 'Swiftposium' attracts global intellectuals to discuss Taylor Swift
- Move over, Mediterranean diet. The Atlantic diet is here. Foods, health benefits, explained
- When are the Oscars? Make sure not to miss one of the biggest nights of awards season
Recommendation
The company planning a successor to Concorde makes its first supersonic test
Photos: SpaceX launches USSF-124 classified mission from Cape Canaveral, Odysseus to follow
Hiker discovers rare 2,800-year-old amulet in Israel
Soccer star Megan Rapinoe criticized those who celebrated her career-ending injury
EU countries double down on a halt to Syrian asylum claims but will not yet send people back
Global Warming Could Drive Locust Outbreaks into New Regions, Study Warns
Hiker kills rabid coyote with his bare hands after attack in New England woods
Notre Dame football announces Shamrock Series return to Yankee Stadium for 2024 vs. Army