A Louisiana high school football player died after suffering an injury while playing a game Friday, the Franklin Parish coroner’s office said.
Tyrell Cameron, a student at Franklin Parish High School, died shortly after he was transported to Franklin Medical Center late Friday, said coroner’s office spokesman Shane Scott.
The player was hit during a punt return in the fourth quarter in the game against Sterlington High School, Franklin Parish head coach Barry Sebren told CNN affiliate KNOE.
Northeast Louisiana Ambulance Service was on the sidelines during the game and rushed onto the field to help when Cameron was injured.
The cause of death is under investigation, but KNOE reported Cameron broke his neck.
A vigil for the 16-year-old Cameron was planned for Saturday night at Franklin Parish High School, CNN affiliates KTVE and KARD reported.
The school posted condolences on social media.
“He loved his family, his team, and the game of football. He will be missed,” the school’s Facebook page read.
“Tyrell will live on in the memory of those who loved him,” the school’s athletic program tweeted.
Sterlington football coach Jason Thompson offered his condolences in a statement to KTVE.
“Life is precious and we all mourn the loss of this young man,” Thompson said.
Since 1995, there have been 77 known cases in which the death of high school players were directly linked to football, according to numbers compiled by The National Center for Catastrophic Sport Injury Research. There were five during the 2014 season. The center says about 1,100,000 people play high school football.
Also this week, a 16-year-old player at a Texas high school broke his neck during a junior varsity game, according to an online fundraising page for Jasiel Favors.
Favors, who played for Stony Point High School in Round Rock, is paralyzed from the waist down, the Austin Statesman reported Thursday.
Sophomore Josh Moore told CNN affiliate KXAN that Jasiel collided with two players and went down.
“Pretty sad to see because he was just laying there, I was worried if he was still alive or not, because he didn’t move and they all swarmed, the cops swarmed over there,” Moore told the Austin-area station.
