Cheerleader dies after being thrown in the air.....

Search

Wooooooooh Nelly look em' go!!!
Joined
Jan 31, 2005
Messages
5,277
Tokens
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=410 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=small>
1123664872_0221.jpg

Julie Brown (left), coach of the Medford High School cheerleading team, spoke with other people outside the entrance of Medford City Hall yesterday evening. (Globe Staff Photo / John Bohn) </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

<!-- <headline>Medford athlete dies at practice</headline> <source>Boston Globe</source> <teasetext>TEWKSBURY -- A 14-year-old Medford girl died yesterday after a stunt went wrong at cheerleading practice, authorities said.</teasetext> <byline>David Abel and Caroline Louise Cole</byline> <date>August 10, 2005</date> --> Medford athlete dies at practice

Cheerleader, 14, was thrown in air, landed chest down

By David Abel and Caroline Louise Cole, Globe Staff And Globe Correspondent | August 10, 2005

TEWKSBURY -- A 14-year-old Medford girl died yesterday after a stunt went wrong at cheerleading practice, authorities said.

The girl, Ashley Burns, an upcoming ninth-grader at Medford Vocational-Technical High School, died after being thrown in the air and landing chest down in the arms of fellow cheerleaders during a conditioning class at East Elite Cheer Gym, authorities said.

Tewksbury Fire Chief Richard Mackey said firefighters were called about 4:50 p.m., and Burns was talking when paramedics arrived.

''She said she thought she had the wind knocked out of her," Police Chief Alfred Donovan said during a press conference last night at police headquarters.

''She was talking, but her condition worsened rapidly," Mackey added. She was having trouble breathing and lost consciousness, Donovan said.

Paramedics took the girl to Saints Memorial Medical Center in Lowell, where she was pronounced dead at 6 p.m. Officials did not know the cause of death last night, but said it might have resulted from internal injuries.

James Deveney -- the principal of McGlynn Middle School, which Burns attendeduntil June -- said that during the last school year she had been in and out of school with an undiagnosed stomach-related illness. He did not know whether that would help explain why she died.

Burns was one of 12 incoming freshmen chosen for a team of 22 girls for the cheerleading team of Medford High School, which shares sports with Medford Voc-Tech and has gained a reputation for its success in regional and national competitions, said Lisa Evangelista, the team's assistant coach. Burns and the others were attending a training session to help prepare them for the coming season.

The team's head coach, Julie Brown, attended the practice and dialed 911 after it became clear Burns needed medical attention, Evangelista said.

Burns, who for years had cheered for a local Pop Warner team, had been practicing a sophisticated stunt called an arabesque double down with three other girls when she suffered the fatal injury, the coaches said.

The girls hoisted her up by one foot and tossed her in the air, where she was supposed to complete two twirls before they caught her in a crouching position on her back.

''She didn't make the full rotation," Brown said.

Evangelista said the 4-foot-9, 90-pound girl had been practicing the routine for several weeks and ''had done it at least once correctly."

''Ashley wasn't being asked to do anything beyond her abilities," Evangelista said. ''This was totally a freak accident."

Linda Bernis -- owner of the gym, which is in an industrial park on the Andover line -- said the facility's ''sympathies are with the family."

In the past few decades, cheerleading has become a more athletic, more dangerous sport.

Between 1982 and 2001, 25 high school girls suffered severe injuries in cheerleading accidents, according to the National Center for Catastrophic Sport Injury Research. Four died.

A relative who attended the practice described Burns as a ''beautiful girl" who ''loved cheerleading."

''She had been doing it forever," said Angela Murphy, her step-grandmother. ''She died doing something she loved. She's a beautiful little girl who will be very missed."

Deveney, the principal, described Burns as an ideal student who had a knack for smoothing out typical teenage problems.

''She was a great problem solver for kids who were having a little bit of adolescent-related difficulties," he said.

Over the last two years, Burns had organized dances and fund-raisers as a member of the student council, and she was looking forward to a hands-on high school education, he said.

''She was the ideal middle school student; she was interested in everything," Deveney said.

When she was out sick, he said, ''she always made sure her work was made up."

Medford Mayor Michael J. McGlynn said the cheerleaders would meet with grief counselors this morning at the high school.

He described Burns as a spunky cheerleader who took the sport seriously.

''Our hearts go out to her mother and family and the kids," McGlynn said. ''Obviously, we are saddened and shocked by the untimely death."
 

Forum statistics

Threads
1,106,816
Messages
13,439,095
Members
99,339
Latest member
billcunninghamhomeloans
The RX is the sports betting industry's leading information portal for bonuses, picks, and sportsbook reviews. Find the best deals offered by a sportsbook in your state and browse our free picks section.FacebookTwitterInstagramContact Usforum@therx.com