HS football deaths highlight dangers of heat
(CBS/AP) Three high school football players have died after practice in the last week and heat is being linked to at least two of the deaths.
The grim news comes the same week that a report singled out football as being sending the most people to the hospital for heat-related emergencies and exactly ten years after the death of Minnesota Vikings player Korey Stringer, the offensive tackle who died of heat stroke.
On Tuesday, two Georgia high school football players died, one of them after he collapsed while leaving the field after practice.
The Henry County schools superintendent's office confirmed Wednesday that 16-year-old Forrest Jones, a student at Locust Grove High School, died Tuesday night at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta.
Jones had been hospitalized since Monday when he collapsed while leaving the field. His father, Glenn Jones, says doctors told him the collapse was heat-related.
In Lake City, Fla. a Georgia teen attending football camp died following practice Tuesday morning.
Columbia County authorities say 16-year-old Don'terio J. Searcy of Fitzgerald High School was found unresponsive in his cabin. He was transported to a hospital, where attempts to resuscitate him were unsuccessful.
The deaths come just three days after a 14-year-old South Carolina high school football player collapsed and died following a weekend practice.
Darlington County Coroner J. Todd Hardee says tests have been conducted to determine if Tyquan Xavier Brantley died of the heat or some other cause.
Brantley collapsed after a Lamar High School team practice last Saturday morning when the team worked out in helmets but no pads. The National Weather Service reported the temperature on Saturday reached 101 degrees, a near-record.
Vikings' offensive lineman Korey Stringer died on Aug. 1, 2001, after collapsing on the field during a sweltering day of training camp. His death prompted teams across the NFL to more closely monitor their players during the long, hot practices of August.
His wife, Kelci, spoke to "The Early Show" on Wednesday about her institute aimed at raising awareness of the dangers of heat stroke and sudden death in sports.