Teen Dies After Fatal Injury During Sachem High School East Football Practice In Long Island


Sachem High School East fatal football accident update: Joshua Mileto was hit in the head when a 10-foot log that weighed several hundred pounds was being carried during a pre-season conditioning practice by the athlete and several other team members.

The football practice fatality involving the 5-foot-6, 134-pound Farmingville, Long Island football player has been declared an accident by Suffolk County police investigators. The Long Island law enforcement investigators interviewed 16 Sachem High School East football coaches and trainers before ruling Joshua Mileto’s death an accident, MSN reports.

“This morning [my son] witnessed something that is going to stay with him forever,” Jamie Mendez posted on Facebook after the fatal football accident in Farmingville. “It breaks my heart to see the pain and fear in his eyes knowing this could have been him.”

Another local resident, Terry Sorrentino, stated on Facebook that he saw football players from the Long Island school “weeping and pounding the wall” at the hospital. Sorrentino added he had never witnessed such extreme sadness in all his life.

Football practice safety was called into question after news about the tragedy at the Long Island high school spread across social media. A representative from Sachem High School East told reporters the log carry conditioning drill was “commonly” used at the Farmingville school.

A teenager was killed during a conditioning practice at the Sachem High School East football camp in Farmingville, Long Island. Few details are yet known about the incident that led to the fatal injury on the football field.

Witnesses say the athletes were carrying a large log over their heads onto the football field as part of their pre-season conditioning training. Two of the Farmingville high school football players allegedly fell while carrying the electric pole-style log over their heads, according to New York CBS Local. When the log fell, it hit one of the players, possibly on the head, according to local reporters.

Suffolk Police Assistant Commissioner Justin Meyers said CPR was attempted on the Sachem East High School football player, but the efforts proved unsuccessful. According to a report by News 12, five football players were carrying a long and large log when the fatal accident occurred.

Farmingville police have revealed that the 11th-grade Sachem East High School football player was injured around 8:40 a.m. at the Long Island school’s athletic field earlier today.

NBC News New York has reported the football player killed during the conditioning drill is Joshua Mileto, 16. The Sachem East High School football player was transported to Stony Brook University Hospital, where he was officially pronounced dead.

Joshua Mileto was described as a “good kid” who was always happy, laughing, and put others before himself.

“It’s a real tragic situation as a young individual has lost his life,” said Tom Combs, the executive director of Section XI, the governing body of Suffolk County high school sports. “Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family and the Sachem district.”

The local news outlet also reported another possible incident at the Farmingville football camp involving a different player during a conditioning drill might have happened yesterday. The Long Island football player possibly injured during the high school football practice yesterday is reportedly still undergoing medical care at Stony Brook University Hospital.

The Long Island school district released a public statement about the fatal football practice accident early this afternoon. The Farmingville school release said the district was “devastated” by the “horrific accident” and said the entire school community is grieving.

Crisis intervention experts have been made available for Sachem High School East students and staff to help them deal with the fatal football field accident. The Long Island school district also expressed their deep condolences to the football player’s family and friends.

All school and community activities scheduled to take place on campuses throughout the district were canceled after the football player was killed.

[Featured Image by David Lee/Shutterstock]

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