OCTOBER 15, 2008 — A fifth grade boy died in Oregon Tuesday after a football hit him in the throat during a lunch recess flag football game. The 11-year-old boy, who was a student at Palisades Elementary School in Lake Oswego, collapsed and was unable to breath after he was hit while trying to block a punt.  A teacher attempted CPR  and the boy was taken to Legacy Meridian Park hospital in Tualatin where he died.  

Death from recreational sports activities are rare for children. According to Children’s Hospital, children and adolescents ages 14 and under sustain about 3 million sports related injuries in the United States each year. About 775,000 of those require treatment at a hospital emergency room.  The leading cause of death for sports related injury is a traumatic brain injury.