The cause of death for a New Brockton football player who collapsed during football practice in early August has been determined.
Semaj Wilkins, a 14-year-old player, passed out at New Brockton High School football practice on August 13. Wilkins passed away after being taken to Medical Center Enterprise to get help.
According to Arnold Woodham, the Coffee County Coroner, Wilkins died of “congestive heart failure due to cardiomegaly with biventricular hypertrophy, resulting from a coronary anomaly.” This was found by the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences during an autopsy.
Coroner Woodham says the death was considered natural.
The National Library of Medicine says that “cardiomegaly” means that the heart is too big.
The mayor and coroner both agree that “biventricular hypertrophy” means that the walls of both ventricles, or heart chambers, are getting thicker.
The coroner says it looks like Wilkins had a coronary artery anomaly from birth. This is a heart defect that changes the structure of the coronary arteries.
“During this hard time, our thoughts and prayers are with the Wilkins family.” “We also stand behind the teachers, students, and staff at New Brockton High School,” Coroner Woodham said.
“The New Brockton Fire Department, Enterprise Rescue, the Coffee County Sheriff’s Office, the New Brockton Police Department, and the staff at Medical Center Enterprise deserve praise for how quickly they helped us.”
The National Weather Service said the New Brockton area had a level 3 heat risk around the time Wilkins passed out on August 13. This is a very high risk.
For that afternoon at 4 p.m., the closest weather station said it was about 97 degrees outside, and the heat index was 100 degrees. The “feels like” temperature takes the temperature, humidity, and dew point into account.
People who used to play for the current staff tell WDHN that the team takes heat protocol and staying hydrated very seriously and follows those rules very carefully.