The parents of a 12-year-old boy are desperately looking for answers after their son collapsed and died during football practice in New Jersey.
The tragedy occurred last week during a youth team's workout in Newark, when Elijah Jordon Brown-Garcia was doing two of the things he loved most: being with his little brother, and gearing up for football practice.
The season was still months away, but Elijah went with his 10-year-old brother Mekhi to his rec team practice at West Side Park on Friday. He was running some drills when the unthinkable happened.
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"He didn’t get hit, like no contact or anything. He ran about 20 yards, said he was going to take a little break. I don't think he took enough time," said brother Mekhi Stradford.
Elijah collapsed without warning. Mekhi called his mother while another parent called 911 — but no one administered CPR. The coach had briefly left the workout to run an errand.
"I have three other kids and I had to get them dressed and ready and I got there and the ambulance still wasn’t there, and I called when I got there. They were literally on their way," said mother Raven Brown.
Witnesses said it was well over 30 minutes before an ambulance arrived at the field. Even though a police precinct was just a few hundred yards away, Newark Police said the 911 call from a cell phone could have gone anywhere. No one at the field thought to go get a police officer for help.
"It's unbearable how much love I’m getting for my baby. He didn't deserve this, he was a good kid. He had so much further to go, he had so much more time, he was supposed to be here," said Brown.
Elijah, a sixth grader at Rise Academy Charter School, could not be revived. What's more devastating: His family says that had someone at the practice known CPR, Elijah might still be alive.
"You have adults that are supposed to be in charge of our kids and they don't have the bare minimum when it comes to CPR or being able to realize what is an emergency and what's not," said Sable Shelton, Elijah's aunt.
The coach for the Essex County Predators, the recreational team Elijah played for, did not return calls for comment, but Elijah's anguished mother said he has reached out to the family in the wake of the tragedy.
"The coach wasn’t there, and he told me none of us are CPR certified, but I’m gonna do my best to make sure that all of us become CPR certified," said Brown.
There is no law in New Jersey that requires coaches or team staff be certified in CPR. Defibrillators or AED devices are required in schools and at school events, but not for private or recreational activities or sports leagues. A bill that would have mandated that said it would have cost between $20 million to $40 million; it was vetoed by former governor Chris Christie.
"CPR courses cost $75 for you to save someone's life," said Shelton.
The world watched as Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin was resuscitated on the field after collapsing in January. Elijah's family can only wonder as to why that couldn't have happened to their loved one.
"We have this conversation about football all the time when it comes to them big, known players. But why we don’t have the bare minimum for the children, the kids — and my nephew had to witness it," Shelton said.
