Autopsy pending into death of Hollywood High School football player

Oct. 18, 2009 | KPCC Wire Services

An autopsy was pending today on a Hollywood High School ninth-grade football player who collapsed on the field after carrying the ball during a Friday evening game and died Saturday.

"Everyone's upset, you know, it's pretty sad because you don't expect this to happen, like you're here today, you're not here tomorrow," the boy's cousin, Chris Corvera, told KCAL9.

Friends and a coach described the boy as a dedicated athlete who ran marathons and did well in school. TV stations identified the 14-year-old running back as Spencer Juarez.

"It's the kind of kid that you want to teach, who makes you want to follow him throughout his life because you know he's going to do amazing things," coach and marathon trainer Bonnie Anderson told the television station.

The boy was declared dead about 3 p.m. at Childrens Hospital.

Witnesses said the boy had just carried the ball and was jogging to the sideline when he collapsed with about two minutes left in the freshman- sophomore game against West Adams Prep.

Paramedics took the player to the hospital and the game was halted.

On Sept. 11, Garden Grove High School football player Kevin Telles, 17, collapsed and died during a game, but coroner's investigators have yet to disclose the cause of death, pending more studies.

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