Prep Player Dies After Practice

A San Fernando High football player who collapsed after practice in 100-degree-plus heat Tuesday died early Thursday.

Sergio Echevarria, 17, died at 2 a.m. at Holy Cross Medical Center in Mission Hills, where he had been comatose since suffering an attack of hyperthermia, according to a hospital spokeswoman.

Echevarria, a senior, collapsed among team members at about 3 p.m., 10 minutes after practice ended, according to teammates.

“He was on the ground and it looked like he was having a seizure,” Amon Flanagan, a senior linebacker, said. “No one knew what was happening. Everyone is pretty shaken up about it.”

San Fernando Coach Tom Hernandez could not be reached for comment. According to players, Hernandez had told the boys before they began that practice was “going to be cut short because of the heat.”

Hernandez and other coaches were in the equipment room preparing to issue helmets when Echevarria collapsed, players said.

Under City Section rules, teams began after-school practice Tuesday but are not permitted to hold contact drills until next week.

“All they were doing out there was running,” said Hal Harkness, City Section commissioner. “It was the football team out there, but it really wasn’t football.”

San Fernando’s practice Tuesday began at noon, Flanagan said, because of a shortened school day. Practices ordinarily begin at 2.

Demetrius Lotson, a senior running back, described Tuesday’s practice as “not very hard.”

“It was really hot, but I was OK,” Lotson said. “We were just running. We ran a mile, then a couple of sprints. That was it. Then we were heading for the locker room to get our helmets. That’s when Sergio fell on the ground.”

Echevarria was a newcomer this season trying out at linebacker. “He was quiet,” Felipe Aguilar, a junior defensive back, said. “I don’t think many of the guys on the team knew him too well.”