East St. Louis High School football player dies after passing out in the weight room
A 16-year-old student at East St. Louis Senior High School died after passing out while lifting weights at the school.
Jermaine Falconer, a sophomore, was on the football team. He was lifting weights in the weight room Wednesday afternoon when he passed out.
He was taken to the emergency room at Touchette Regional Hospital in Centreville, where he was pronounced dead at 5 p.m., St. Clair County Coroner Calvin Dye said.
Dye said an autopsy will be performed, and authorities do not yet know a cause of death.
“We are grieving the loss of one of our student athletes. We are also investigating the circumstances under which he passed. The student had been participating in an athletic workout,” said Sydney Stigge Kaufmann, a spokeswoman for the high school.
She said a crisis team was at the school Thursday.
“Our crisis team is present at the high school and are supporting students and staff during this difficult time. We send our sincere condolences to the family as they cope with this tragic loss of a young, vibrant life,” she said.
Members of the family could not be reached for comment.
This story was originally published March 7, 2019 at 9:35 AM.
