HS grid tragedy
Player, 14, a top student, collapses at practice & dies
A 14-YEAR-OLD high school football player collapsed during practice in the Bronx on Tuesday and died of an apparent heart attack.
Dominick Bess, a student at Mount Saint Michael Academy on Murdock Ave. in Wakefield, fell to the ground about 9:30 a.m., police and fire officials said.
Medics rushed the junior varsity player to Montefiore Medical Center, where he died, police said.
“It was a normal practice like every day,” said varsity football player Kianndrea Smith, 17. “One of my teammates told me someone was down. I said, ‘What happened?’ He said he didn't know.”
Kianndrea said he could see from across the field coaches and players running toward Dominick. The players prayed as the coaches and then medics tended to the incoming freshman.
Bertram Meade, Dominick’s uncle, said he was told by a teammate that his nephew collapsed while running laps. Players were wearing shorts and T-shirts — and no football pads.
“They said one more lap and that was it . . .,” said Meade, 56. “They did everything they could at the school, CPR, everything.”
Meade suggested the heat and humidity may have been factors in the death. It was 79 degrees and the humidity hovered around 82% when the teen collapsed.
“Today was a really hot day. I was wondering about that,” Meade said. “It was a humid morning.”
The player’s mother, Georgette Meade, 35, learned the tragic news from the hospital.
“He was in the top percentile of his class,” Bertram Meade said, lauding the teen’s excellent grades. “Words cannot express . . . in my mind, he could’ve been anything."
Meade said his nephew adored the sport, and never showed any signs of health issues. “He always wanted to excel and make his family proud,” he said. “I kept saying, ‘Did I miss the warning signs? Did I miss something? Did we miss the cue?’ I don’t know.”
Dominick’s father is an architect, and his mother is a paralegal. His 17-year-old brother returned from Boston late Tuesday. The family hails from the Caribbean island of Montserrat.
“He was one of the warmest, kindest kids, intellectual, very smart, very ambitious,” the uncle said. “He was exemplary.”
School officials issued a statement, extending their condolences. “Our heartfelt thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends, as well as coaches, the team and our student-athletes,” the officials said.
The medical examiner’s office will determine how Dominick died.
Kianndrea said the junior varsity and varsity teams practice separately from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., while taking several breaks.
He said he never thought the football practices were too grueling. “Every drill, you get a water break, it’s not like they’re starving us or anything,” he said. “It’s hard for us, but we’re going to strive through for Dominick. We want a championship for him.”
It was the second death of a New York area high school football player during preseason practice in August.
On Aug. 10, Sachem East High School player Joshua Mileto, 16, died on Long Island when a 400-pound, 10-foot section of a utility pole crushed him as he and four other boys carried it above their heads during practice.