A 14-year-old Costa Mesa Middle School student died Wednesday after collapsing while playing handball after school, authorities said.
Eighth-grader Eric Valdez collapsed about 4:30 p.m. on the campus handball court, where he was playing with his brother and a friend, said Laura Boss, spokeswoman for the Newport-Mesa Unified School District. Police and fire officials arrived and administered CPR before taking him to Hoag Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The coroner’s office has classified the case as an unexpected natural death, Boss said.
Crisis counselors were on the campus shared by middle school and high school students Thursday, and students put up a memorial on a wall where friends could write messages of remembrance, Boss said. The school district posted a statement on its website mourning Valdez’s death.
Valdez’s brother, who was with him when he collapsed, is also an eighth-grader at the school.
In a statement, middle school Principal Aaron Peralta described Valdez as a good-natured, smiling young man who enjoyed handball and was beloved by his teachers.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with the Valdez family, and as a school community we will come together to support them in whatever way we can," Boss said. "It’s a very, very sad day."
— Tony Barboza in Costa Mesa