San Jose Teen Dies Trading Friendly Punches With Pal

A punching contest between two teenage friends Sunday ended when one of the boys died in front of his San Jose home after receiving a blow to the chest.

Jacob Salas, 16, was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital, authorities said.

Richard Jimenez, 19, who allegedly delivered the fatal blow, fled the scene but was arrested at a friend’s house five hours later and booked on suspicion of involuntary manslaughter, officials said.

But on Monday Jimenez was released from custody after the Santa Clara County district attorney’s office decided not to file charges.

“It was a very unfortunate accident but there was no evidence that the activity involved a high risk of death,” said Santa Clara County Assistant Dist. Atty. Karyn Sinunu. “It was a game, it was not a fight club situation where they were beating each other.”

San Jose Police Sgt. Steve Dixon said Salas had a gathering at his house, where the two teens decided to play the punching game common among boys and young men.

“They agreed to step in the front yard and have a contest of punching each other in the torso until one of them gave up,” Dixon said. “It’s more common than people think. It’s kind of a test of manhood.”

They were trading punches when after the second or third punch, Salas suddenly collapsed, Dixon said.

Salas was pronounced dead at a local hospital shortly after 1 a.m. Sunday, said Dr. Gregory Schmunk, chief medical examiner-coroner for Santa Clara County.

Although the cause of death has not been established, Schmunk said that this type of incident is frequently associated with blunt impacts to the chest that cause the heart to go into arrhythmia.