Middle Schooler Made to Run in Sweltering Heat Before Death
A 12-year-old boy in Lake Elsinore, Calif. is dead after collapsing while running laps at school.
Yahshua Robinson’s family members said a gym teacher ignored his pleas as he was made to run for failing to dress appropriately for class on Aug. 29. The temperature during the run was in the low- to mid-90s.
"He was reaching out to the teacher, saying he needed some water. He said he couldn't breathe. He was telling the kids this,” Robinson’s aunt Amarna Plummer told a local news outlet.
Plummer said that Robinson’s condition deteriorated before he collapsed. Emergency responders arrived a short time later, but he was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.
"Why would you have a child in his clothes – he didn't dress out – running a field?” Plummer said.
Ironically, Robinson’s mother is a physical education teacher at another school in the district. According to Plummer, her sister-in-law warned school administrators about the dangerous heat, though it’s unclear to whom she filed this complaint.
"She informs the administration, ‘Do not let any children go out today for P.E.’ And what happened? She gets a call he passed out on the field,” Plummer said.
The school district declined to provide further details in Robinson’s death. However, it released a statement saying it was “saddened” to confirm the death “of one of our students due to a medical emergency at one of our LEUSD campuses.”
Grief counselors are helping students and staff, according to the statement.
A GoFundMe has been started to help with Yahshua's final expenses.
