Mother of 12-year-old New Jersey student says son died after collapse during ‘no-contact’ football practice

A New Jersey mother is seeking answers after her 12-year-old son collapsed and died after football practice on Feb. 10.

Elijah Jordan Brown-Garcia was in the sixth-grade at KIPP Rise Academy in Newark. He was going through drills last Friday, and at some point he became unresponsive, a school official confirmed.

“He was so happy to be there. He didn’t know that it was going to be his last day,” the boy’s mother, Raven Brown, told News 12 New Jersey.

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Elijah’s mother said that he played for the Essex County Predators league and he had been at practice with his younger brother, who reportedly made the phone call to their mother.

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“I said, ‘What are they doing? What is anybody doing?’ And he said, ‘They are pouring water on him, and they are fanning him.’ And that’s when I got my kids together, and I said, ‘I’m on my way,'” Brown recalled when she spoke about the phone call.

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Elijah was not given CPR, and Brown said that she asked the coach of the team why it seemed as if no one knew how to provide immediate aid.

“And he said, ‘None of us are CPR certified,’” Brown said.

The amount of time it took the medical personnel to arrive on the scene is unclear. Elijah was eventually transported from the football field to a nearby hospital in Newark. 

He was pronounced dead at the hospital. 

“University Hospital extends its deepest condolences to the grieving family of this young person. For privacy reasons, however, UH cannot comment on protected health information regarding our patients, including confirmation of a patient’s identity,” a hospital official said in a statement on Friday.

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Elijah was not hit during the practice and was in good health overall, Brown stated. There was “no contact. It was just drills running back and forth,” she said.

The family are awaiting autopsy results.