Loyola School Junior Dies After Colliding With Player During Soccer Game
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- A New York City high school student died earlier this week after suffering an injury during a soccer game.
Loyola School junior Thomas Jakelich collided with another player while playing in a varsity game against the United Nations International School Monday afternoon on Randall's Island, his family said.
"Kids don't die in soccer games and we don't understand this," Rich Newman, Jakelich's stepfather, said. "And we have all the questions you would expect when you lose a remarkable kid like this."
The collision appeared normal at first, but then Jakelich was hospitalized with internal bleeding, the family said.
His liver was lacerated and he died Monday night at Harlem Hospital.
"It was an internal injury. He got to the hospital as fast as he should have gotten to," Newman said. "We feel the doctors did everything necessary. They tried for a long time to save this kid. It was just a freak injury that just could not be overcome."
Jakelich was currently playing for Loyola, but was a fixture at Bronxville High School in Westchester in previous years, CBS2's Lou Young reported. Both campuses were in shock.
"As a school community, we mourn the tragic loss of Thomas Jakelich and offer our prayers and deepest condolences to his family," school president Tony Oroszlany said in a statement. "Out of respect for the privacy of Thomas' loved ones and that of our students, we offer no other comment beyond our profound sadness at the loss of a beloved member of the Loyola School family."
People who knew Jakelich described him as empathetic, social and driven - especially on the soccer field.
He's definitely special. He made people feel really good all the time," Bronxville High School student Christina Brumbaugh said.
The medical examiner's office said the exact cause of death is still being determined.
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