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16-Year-Old Football Player Dies After Collapsing During Practice

By Nicholas Rizzi | September 2, 2014 4:02pm
 Miles Kirkland, 16, died after he collapsed during a football practice at Curtis High School on Monday, Sept. 1, 2014.
Miles Kirkland, 16, died after he collapsed during a football practice at Curtis High School on Monday, Sept. 1, 2014.
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DNAinfo/Nicholas Rizzi and Instagram/lilscrappy54

NEW BRIGHTON — A 16-year-old high school football player died after he collapsed during a Monday morning practice, authorities said.

Miles Kirkland, 16, a junior at Curtis High School, collapsed on the field during a practice at the school, the Staten Island Advance first reported.

EMS workers responded to the school at 10:41 a.m. and Kirkland was transferred to Richmond University Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead, the FDNY said.

"I am deeply saddened to learn of this tragic loss and my heart goes out to the family," Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña said in a statement. "We will be supporting the school community as we investigate this matter."

The school's athletic director, Eric Ritzer, did not respond to requests for comment. He told the Advance that staff called 911 as soon as the offensive and defensive lineman collapsed.

"As you can imagine it was a very emotional scene," Ritzer told the paper. "Most of the team if not all of the team was there... All of us are trying to fathom what just happened."

According to Public School Athletic League regulations, coaches are required to stop practice when the temperature reaches 85 degrees and the humidity is 80 percent or higher. The temperature at 10:51 a.m. on Monday was 84 degrees with 71 percent humidity, according to the National Weather Service.

A memorial of candles for Kirkland was left in front of the gate to the football field on Tuesday, and classmates and friends mourned their loss on social media using the hashtag #RIPMiles.

"Miles was ONE person I knew that LOVED football, he was determined to make it," Baylaa Simonee tweeted on Monday.

A spokeswoman for Office of the Chief Medical Examiner said it would examine the cause of death on Tuesday.

Kirkland was the second Staten Island high school player in recent years to die during summer workouts. In 2012, Nicholas Dellaventura, 15, a sophomore at St. Joseph by-the-Sea High School, died after a 90-minute workout where he was struggling to breathe and couldn't stand afterwards, the New York Post reported.