Damon Janes, a 16-year-old high school football player, died Monday from injuries he suffered during a helmet-to-helmet collision during a Friday game in Portville, N.Y.
Damon Janes collapsed and lost consciousness after the play during a game at Westfield/Brocton High School,
The Huffington Post reported.
The junior running back died from his injuries at the Women & Children’s Hospital in Buffalo.
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His parents and doctors released a statement expressing their thankfulness “to those who have supported and prayed for Damon and his family, and continue to request that their privacy be respected at this time,”
the Post-Journal reported.
The
Brocton Central School District posted on its website that grief counseling is available for students. “Our school and community is devastated by the football tragedy that occurred at the game last Friday night and we are grieving his loss. Damon was a unique, artistic, smart, athletic and friendly young man,” the site read.
Social media lit up with support for Janes’ family members and friends, and comments on the young athlete.
A picture of the laughing teenager, apparently supplied by the family, appeared with many posts.
The
New York State Sportswriters Association said Janes’ death was the third to occur in the state in the last three years among high school athletes. Twenty-five high school football players died from injuries on the field from 2003 to 2013.
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