Funeral held for 12-year-old who collapsed and died during football practice in Newark, New Jersey
SUMMIT, New Jersey (WABC) -- A funeral was held Tuesday in New Jersey for a 12-year-old boy who collapsed and died during football practice.
The service for Elijah Jordan Brown-Garcia was held at Fountain Baptist Church in Summit.
He was involved in a light football drill on the field at West Side Park in Newark on February 10 when he collapsed right near his younger brother.
The head coach of the Essex County Predators youth football team had left and another coach and parents were in charge.
It appears no one on hand knew CPR, but several people called 911.
A police precinct is right next to the park, but 911 calls on cellphones can go to dispatchers countywide.
The boy's family says it took up to 30 minutes for EMS to arrive and it was too late to save him.
In their sorrow over Elijah's death, the family is calling for CPR training for all coaches involved in youth sports.
The sixth grader at the rise Academy Charter School was an athletic child who meant so much to his family.
Football tragedies in sports have been highlighted by the incident involving bills player Damar Hamlin.
Fortunately, he had a trained medical team there to help, but last fall Linden High School player Xavier McClain collapsed in a game and died.
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