A Central Penn College baseball player has died after a makeshift shelter collapsed.
Angel Mercado-Ocasio, 19, suffered a traumatic brain injury Monday in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, at 7th and Radnor baseball fields. He died Tuesday night at Holy Spirit Hospital.
Mercado-Ocasio was disassembling a wooden bench on a field that was built without city permission: Mercado-Ocasio, a coach and several others put up the benches and felt responsible for taking them down.
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Angel Mercado-Ocasio, 19, suffered a traumatic brain injury Monday in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, at 7th and Radnor baseball fields. (Andy Mead/YCJ/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
«Our Central Penn College family is devastated by the loss of Angel,» said Linda Fedrizzi-Williams, president of Central Penn. said in a statement. «As friends turned family, we are mourning the heartbreaking loss of one of our own, a promising young athlete who senselessly lost his life while helping others enjoy the sport he loved so much. No words can adequately express our anguish.»
«Every time someone passes by, we lose a little bit of who we are. It hurts even more when it’s one of our own,» added Harrisburg Mayor Wanda Williams. «Angel was our son; a proud Harrisburg Cougar and an outstanding and promising young athlete. He died helping others in the sport he loved. He is heartbreaking. Angel embraced so many people and now we need to embrace the memory of him.» We ask everyone in the community to pray for his family, friends and teammates as we get through this incredibly difficult time together. The City of Harrisburg would like to extend our deepest condolences and prayers to the family.»
Ángel Mercado-Ocasio died at the hospital Tuesday night. (Erica Denhoff/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
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Mercado-Ocasio revived afterwards rescuers performed CPR and had been in critical condition.
Coach Gerardo Díaz, who was dismantling the bench, blamed himself for not paying more attention to his players in the area. he told FOX 43 they were «kidding».
«I did everything possible to protect him,» he said. «I got mad at them. I told them to stop playing, but boys will be boys. I still feel responsible.»
A 19-year-old baseball player died after a dugout collapsed on him. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
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The city received a $13 million grant to fix issues with local parks, but it remains to be seen how the money will be used.