Ad Disclosure
Two basketball coaches face murder charges after high school player dies of heatstroke
By Rolando Rosa
Published:
Two basketball coaches in Clayton County, Georgia are facing murder charges after 16-year-old high school basketball player Imani Bell died from a heatstroke in August 2019.
This happened during a practice in which the team was doing outside drills even though the county issued a warning for sports or club teams to not be outside due to the excessive heat.
Bell’s father Eric Bell filed a lawsuit and coaches Larosa Maria Walker-Asekere and Dwight Broom Palmer now face charges of second-degree murder, cruelty to children and involuntary manslaughter, according to a report from CBS News.
Eric Bell was in disbelief when he arrived at the hospital to discover what unfolded.
“Gut-wrenching. Heartbreaking. How could this happen?” said her father, Eric Bell. He said E.R. doctors revived his daughter twice.
“The body was so hot that it went right back into cardiac arrest,” Eric Bell said. “I was actually in the room, and you know, that’s not a memory I’ll ever forget.”
As part of the conditioning workout, Bell was climbing stadium stairs but began to struggle, which led to her dying of heatstroke according to the autopsy.
Rolando Rosa brings his experience covering college football to Saturday Tradition. Follow him on Twitter @RolandoRosa3.