Arizona 13-Year-Old Dies in Freak Baseball Accident

[AntZ]

Arizona 13-Year-Old Dies in Freak Baseball Accident

Published June 04, 2011

| NewsCore




Phoenix – A 13-year-old boy has died in a freak baseball accident in Arizona, KNXV-TV reported Friday.

Winslow Little Leaguer Hayden Walton was struck in the chest by a pitch as he went to lay down a bunt on Tuesday night, officials in his Little League said Friday.

"He dropped the bat and headed off to first base. Probably took two steps and he fell," said official Jamey Jones.

The teen died Wednesday morning at a local hospital, with paramedics saying he died from commotio cordis -- a disruption of heart rhythm that occurs as a result of a blow to the area directly over the heart.

In a statement published on its website Little League International Friday mourned the passing of Hayden.

"As a parent, the anguish over the loss of a child is incomprehensible," Stephen D. Keener, CEO of Little League Baseball and Softball, said.

"So words cannot adequately express our sorrow on the passing of Hayden. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Hayden's family, all the players and volunteers of the Winslow Little League, his classmates, and his friends, at this difficult time."

Winslow is a small town about 60 miles (95km) east of Flagstaff, Arizona.



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Stories like this are especially tragic! You protect your children, and you encourage them to be healthy and play sports, then something like this happens!

Many times the parents will blame themselves and it wrecks families.

[DemonGeminiX]

That's messed up.

:(

[deebakes]

i had never heard of this :shock:

[Deepsepia]

i had never heard of this :shock:

Happens about once a year . . . baseball and hockey are the usual sports, but I've heard of it in lacrosse as well.

Basically a hard shot to the chest can do this-- depends on the location of the blow, and the particular anatomy.

The thing that's freaky about it is that the blow has to occur in a 20 millisecond window in the heart rhythm, if the ball had hit the kid a fraction of a second earlier or later, he'd have had nothing more than a bruise.

[Teh One Who Knocks]

Happens about once a year . . . baseball and hockey are the usual sports, but I've heard of it in lacrosse as well.

Basically a hard shot to the chest can do this-- depends on the location of the blow, and the particular anatomy.

The thing that's freaky about it is that the blow has to occur in a 20 millisecond window in the heart rhythm, if the ball had hit the kid a fraction of a second earlier or later, he'd have had nothing more than a bruise.

Yup, happened in a rugby match here in Colorado earlier this year on a hard hit to the chest

http://abcnews.go.com/US/colorado-teen-dies-hit-rugby-field/story?id=13071608

[deebakes]

wowsers...