La Quinta High Player Collapses on the Field, Has Brain Operation

A football player from Westminster La Quinta High School is on life-support systems and unconscious at UC Irvine Medical Center in Orange after undergoing brain surgery Friday night to remove a blood clot.

Kiet Le, 16, a sophomore, collapsed on the field Friday in a junior varsity game.

La Quinta principal Andrew McTaggart, who was at the game, said Le took the field with the punt return unit, but, before play began, staggered across the line of scrimmage and collapsed.

Doctors refused to release further information. His family could not be reached for comment.

Friends and school administrators are working to bring Le’s mother to the United States from Vietnam to see her son, whom she has not seen in 11 years, McTaggart said.

Le lives with his father and sister in Westminster. His mother was unable to immigrate with the rest of the family.

“We made posters and boxes and put them around the quad area at school,” said Wes Kollar, a close friend and teammate of Le. “We wanted to do something for the family. People donated their lunch money and everything.”

Students raised $370 dollars, which Kollar said will go to the family to help pay for an airline ticket and other expenses.

“We’re probably going to double that tomorrow,” Kollar said.

School officials have contacted U.S. officials in an attempt to expedite the immigration process. Le’s mother is scheduled to immigrate in November, McTaggart said.

“They are trying to intervene through various channels to get her here now,” McTaggart said. “It’s still in channels and we’re waiting to see if we can clear everything up.”

Attempts have been made to contact the Vietnamese mission in the United Nations. The U.S. embassy in Thailand also is involved, McTaggart said.

McTaggart met with team members Monday morning to inform them of Le’s condition and the efforts being made to bring his mother here.

Le’s friends on the team remained after the meeting.

“We said a little prayer and talked about the good stuff Le has done,” Kollar said.