The 11 grader suddenly felt ill, and before he could get to the nurse's office at Paramus High School, he fell to the ground as students watched in horror.
The flag at Paramus High School flies at half staff, a grim reminder of the tragic and sudden death of one of its students as his classmates looked on in horror.
"I was just in shock," said one student.
"I couldn't believe it happened," said another student.
The three students were wrestling teammates last year of Eric Micheo, a junior at Paramus High School.
Students who were in the classroom told the three what happened.
Eric had told the teacher he wasn't feeling well and asked to go to the nurse's office.
"As the teacher was writing him a pass, he passed out and went into a seizure, he was laying there in the teachers arms and then from a seizure he went into cardiac arrest from what I heard," the student said.
Mayor Richard LaBarbiera says the death was sudden.
"Initially, the teachers in the school did everything they could in their power and were quickly joined by emergency personnel within the community and the child was transported to Hackensack Hospital," Mayor LaBarbiera said.
"Later on in the class we see a stretcher come by, see them doing CPR on him, I freaked out, like what's going on and I'm like, 'I know this kid,'" a student said.
Word spread quickly, through social media, including blogs, from a student.
"This gives everyone a lesson. Don't take life for granted. Be happy with what you have. Be grateful for people who love you. We don't know what tomorrow will bring," the blog read.
Mayor LaBarbiera is the father of a student at Paramus High School.
"Obviously, the emotion as a parent and I like every other parent, the worst always runs through your mind, and my heart goes out to the family this evening as they grieve over their tragic, sudden loss," LaBarbiera said.
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