Coroner finds no evidence of trauma in Colton sixth-grader who died after school soccer game

April 15, 2016 9:37 AM PT

A Colton sixth-grader who collapsed during a school soccer game and died Tuesday suffered from an enlarged heart and early signs of congestive heart failure, according to a preliminary coroner’s report.

The death of 12-year-old Dominick Gallegos stunned classmates at Ulysses S. Grant Elementary School this week, while the boy’s parents claimed that a bully had stomped on their son’s chest.

On Thursday, however, the San Bernardino County Coroner posted a preliminary autopsy that reported no evidence of trauma in the boy’s death.

“An autopsy was performed on Dominick today,” the report stated. “No evidence of trauma was found. Preliminary autopsy findings indicate an enlarged (hypertrophic) heart and evidence of early congestive cardiac failure.”

According to authorities, the boy had collapsed while playing soccer at the elementary school around 2:15 p.m. Tuesday.

Gallegos was transported to Arrowhead Regional Medical Center and pronounced dead at 3:14 p.m., the coroner’s office said.

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Colton police were on campus Wednesday to assist the coroner’s office with the investigation, and a team of crisis counselors were available to assist students, said Katie Orloff, a spokeswoman for the Colton Joint Unified School District.

The boy’s parents told KTLA-TV Channel 5 that a school bully stomped on their son’s chest before he lost consciousness.

School officials told Joel Gallegos, the boy’s father, that his son had fallen and lost consciousness after running into another student, according to KTLA. Students said that another student stomped on Dominick’s chest twice when he tried to pick up a soccer ball and slipped.

Earlier this week, Orloff said the investigation had not revealed evidence of assault.

“We offer our deepest condolences to the family and all those affected by this horrible loss,” Orloff said.

brittny.mejia@latimes.com

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Brittny Mejia

Brittny Mejia is a Metro reporter covering federal courts for the Los Angeles Times. Previously, she wrote narrative pieces with a strong emphasis on the Latino community and others that make up the diversity of L.A. and California. Mejia was a Pulitzer Prize finalist in 2021 in local reporting for her investigation with colleague Jack Dolan that exposed failures in Los Angeles County’s safety-net healthcare system that resulted in months-long wait times for patients, including some who died before getting appointments with specialists. She joined The Times in 2014.

Sarah Parvini

Sarah Parvini was a reporter at the Los Angeles Times from 2014 to 2024. She most recently covered the video game industry and previously wrote about California’s diverse communities, with a focus on the state’s shifting demographics. She was part of the team that won the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for its coverage of the San Bernardino terrorist attack, as well as a member of the investigative unit that uncovered scandals at USC’s medical school. The child of immigrants, she speaks fluent Persian and conversational Spanish.

Coroner finds no evidence of trauma in Colton sixth-grader who died after school soccer game

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