COPIAGUE, N.Y. (WCBS 880) — A Long Island family and community is mourning the sudden death of a 15-year-old student who collapsed while running laps at basketball tryouts Wednesday night.
Suffolk County Police confirmed the male student died at Walter G. O’Connell Copiague High School, on Dixon Avenue, sometime during the afterschool hours. Authorities did not reveal the cause of death but noted it was non-criminal.
Tiffany Payton told WCBS 880’s Sophia Hall that the teen is her son, Carmyne Payton, and that he died while running laps at tryouts.
“Practice usually starts around 5…5:30, I got a call, ‘he fell, you need to get here,’” she said. “I’m thinking it was a broken arm…when I got there, that wasn't the case.”
She said the sophomore was rushed to a nearby hospital, but he never woke up.
Payton said her family was left in shock, especially since the teen had no real medical issues.
“He played sports, he skateboarded all summer… any kind of sport he would try… this is just— it's just something that I don't understand it,” she said.
Payton said she will always remember her son as a caring teenager who loved his friends and his family.
“What is there not to say about him? He was he was an amazing kid,” she said. “Very fun-loving kid, very kind-hearted…would do anything for anybody.”
Carmyne did have a history of asthma but was recently cleared by his doctors to play for the basketball team, according to the family.
The boy’s father, Arthur Payton, told authorities that he died of an apparent heart attack, according to Newsday.
An autopsy will be performed to determine the official cause of death.
Meanwhile, Copiague School District Superintendent Kathleen Bannon has sent a letter to families informing them of the incident, noting that the teen’s death has “affected us deeply.”
“The Copiague School District faculty and staff express our condolences to the family and friends of this student and pledge to provide the support and counseling necessary to help them through this difficult time,” Bannon wrote.
A team of counselors, psychologists and social workers will be assigned to the high school to assist students through the grieving process, Bannon noted.