Franklin High School Freshman Dies After Collapsing During Gym Class

Board of Education president Nancy LaCorte spoke to the Township Council about the FHS freshman who died in school May 8.

A 14-year-old Franklin High School student died May 8 after he collapsed during a gym class at the school.

The student, who was not identified, was stricken on the high school’s athletic field at about 9:10 a.m., said district spokeswoman Mary Clark.

Officials called 9-1-1 “and the physical education staff of the high school immediately began CPR,” Clark said in a statement. “The Franklin Township Police Department arrived and the student was taken to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, New Brunswick, via ambulance.”

“At approximately 11:15 a.m., we learned that the student had passed away,” she wrote. “We are providing counseling to our staff and students. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the student’s family at this time.”

The boy’s death was addressed by Board of Education president Nancy LaCorte at the Township Council meeting later that night. The council observed a moment of silence for the boy and his family at the start of the meeting.

“Today was an awful day, no parent should ever have to lose their child,” she said. “It was a really traumatic day, for the family it was the worst day they could ever go through.”

LaCorte said grief counselors were being made available at the high school and also at Franklin Middle School for the high school freshman’s younger friends.

LaCorte thanks schools Superintendent John Ravally and the high school staff for the way they responded to the incident.

“My heart breaks for them because that’s a really hard thing to go through for them,” she said.

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