Student dies after walking track
By Donnie Fetter and Preston Sparks | Columbia County Bureau
Tuesday, August 23, 2005
A Lakeside High School student died Monday after walking on the school's track, Columbia County school officials said in a statement.
Chelsea Collins, 14, died at about 3:30 p.m. at Doctors Hospital, said Columbia County Deputy Coroner Vernon Collins.
While walking on an outdoor track at the school during her sixth-period physical education class, Chelsea complained to her teacher that she wasn't feeling well, according to a written statement from Columbia County school Superintendent Tommy Price.
"The teacher excused her from the activity to sit on the bleachers," Mr. Price wrote. "She continued to exhibit symptoms and was transported to a local hospital, where she died."
School officials will conduct an inquiry into the death, the statement said. A phone message left for Mr. Price at his home was not immediately returned Monday. A phone message to Lakeside High Principal Jeff Carney also was not immediately returned.
Grief counselors will be at the school during the next few days to counsel students and faculty members, Mr. Price wrote.
"At this point, I do not know why she collapsed or the underlying cause of her death," Mr. Collins said.
An autopsy will be performed today , either in Atlanta or at the Augusta crime lab on Phinizy Road, Mr. Collins said. Depending on the extent of the autopsy, Mr. Collins said, determining a cause of death might take as long as three months.
"Heat could be a contributing factor," he said.
Reach Donnie Fetter or Preston Sparks at 868-1222 or
[email protected].