NEW JERSEY — The parents of a 12-year-old boy are desperate for answers after their son collapsed to his death during soccer practice in New Jersey.
The tragedy happened last week during training for the youth team in Newark, when Elijah Jordon Brown-Garcia was doing two of the things he loved the most: spending time with his little brother and getting ready for football training.
The season was still months away, but Elijah went with his 10-year-old brother Mekhi to train for his recreation team at West Side Park on Friday. I was doing exercises when the unthinkable happened.
“He wasn’t touched, like no contact or anything. He ran about 20 yards, said he was going to take some rest. I don’t think he took enough time” , said his brother Mekhi Stradford.
Elijah collapsed without warning. Mekhi called his mother while another father called 911, but no one administered CPR. The coach had briefly left practice to run a race.
“I have three other children and I had to dress them and get them ready, I arrived and the ambulance wasn’t there yet, and I called when I got there. They were literally on their way,” said said mother Raven Brown.
Witnesses said it took more than 30 minutes before an ambulance arrived at the site. Although a police station was only a few hundred yards away, Newark police said calling 911 from a cellphone could have gone anywhere. No one on the ground thought to ask for help from a policeman.
“It’s unbearable how much love I get for my baby. He didn’t deserve this, he was a good boy. He had so much more to do, he had so much more time, he was meant to be here .” said Brown.
Elijah, a sixth-grade student at Rise Academy Charter School, could not be revived. What’s more devastating: his family says that if anyone in the practice knew about CPR, Elijah might still be alive.
“There are adults who are supposed to be in charge of our children who either don’t have the basics of CPR or aren’t able to tell what is an emergency and what isn’t,” said Sable Shelton, Elijah’s aunt. .
The coach of the Essex County Predators, the recreational team Elijah played for, did not return calls for comment, but Elijah’s distraught mother said she contacted the family following of the tragedy.
“The trainer wasn’t there and he told me none of us are certified in CPR, but I’m going to do everything I can to make sure we all get certified in CPR,” he said. Brown said.
There is no law in New Jersey that requires coaches or team personnel to be certified in CPR. Defibrillators or AED devices are required in schools and at school events, but not for private or recreational activities or sports leagues. A bill he allegedly commissioned would have cost between $20 million and $40 million; it was vetoed by former Governor Chris Christie.
“CPR classes cost $75 to save someone’s life,” Shelton said.
The world saw Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin resuscitated on the field after collapsing in January. Elijah’s family can only wonder why this couldn’t happen to their loved one.
“We have this conversation about football all the time when it comes to big, well-known players. But why don’t we have the bare minimum for kids, kids? And my nephew must have witnessed that,” Shelton said.