A 16-year-old high school cheerleader collapsed during a football game. Authorities and school officials are trying to determine what was the cause of death. Hit the jump to read the rest of the story.
@WiL
Authorities and school officials in south Los Angeles are trying to determine what killed a 16-year-old high school cheerleader who collapsed suddenly during a football game and died later at a hospital.
Angela Gettis, a sophomore at George Washington Preparatory High School, was cheering with her varsity cheerleading squad during the school’s game against rival Fremont High School on Friday night when she crumpled to the ground near the sidelines at around 9:10 p.m., KABC television reported.
Firefighters rushed her to a local hospital, where she was pronounced dead about three hours later, officials said.
Gettis apparently died of sudden cardiac arrest, school officials said, according to KABC.
Gettis’ family said the teen didn’t have a heart condition. An autopsy was scheduled for Monday.
Students and teachers in the stunned community called Gettis a spirited leader at Washington Prep, and a respected member of the junior ROTC club.
She had dreams of working in forensic science after college, her family said.
“Washington high school, like every other high school, has its share of unfortunate incidents regarding youth,” Washington Prep Principal Todd Ullah told KABC. “We prepare for that, but you can never really prepare for that. It’s devastating. It’s tragic.”
“I just want people to remember the heart she had, because she was very kind,” the girl’s aunt Angela Kirkindoff, told the station.
