LI GRID KID'S FREAK DEATH
Head-trauma tragedy in log-lift drill
A high-school football player from Long Island died Thursday from massive head trauma when he was crushed by a log during a strenuous preseason practice drill, police said.
Josh Mileto, 16, an 11th-grader at Sachem HS East in Farmingville, was taking part in the drill with a group of players who were carrying the log overhead when it “dropped and struck him,” Suffolk County cops said.
The Farmingville Fire Department rushed Mileto to Stony Brook University Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, Suffolk police official Justin Meyers said.
It was not immediately known if the players had been wearing helmets and pads during the drill that ended in tragedy at about 8:40 a.m.
According to the athletic site Hudl.com, Mileto was 5-foot-6 and 134 pounds. He played cornerback and wide receiver.
Suffolk detectives are investigating the death, but it is not considered suspicious, a police spokeswoman said.
Sachem schools Superintendent Kenneth Graham said in a statement: “The district is devastated by this horrific accident and words cannot express the grief we feel as a school community. We extend our deepest condolences to the student’s family and friends during this terribly difficult time.”
He said the district activated its crisis-intervention team and support services, which “will be made available to students and staff for as long as needed as we mourn and try to cope with this loss.” Athletic officials said conditioning workouts are common shortly before the start of official practice. High-school football teams across New York will begin official practice on Monday. “It’s a real tragic situation, as a young individual has lost his life,” Tom Combs, executive director of Section XI, the governing body of Suffolk high-school athletics, told Newsday. “Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family and the Sachem district.” Becca Stines described her friend as selfless and cheerful. “He was always happy, always laughing,” Stines, 16, a fellow junior, told Newsday. “He put himself be- fore everyone else and was just such a good kid.”
According to New York State Public High School Athletic Association rules, there may not be contact for the first two days of official practice. Teams may begin fullcontact drills after five days.
The only rule for off-season drills is that they cannot be mandatory, NYSPHSAA executive director Robert Zayas told the Long Island newspaper.
“Schools across the state right now during the summer, especially this time of year, are doing conditioning, they’re doing weight-lifting, they’re doing an awful lot of non-mandatory workouts in preparation for the season starting on Monday,” he said.
He said here are no state-mandated restrictions on types of drills during the off-season, adding that each school may decide whether to have a coach or medical staff on hand.