Probe Continues Into Death of Boy, 14, After 1-Mile Run
An investigation continued Wednesday into what caused a 14-year-old student to collapse and die Tuesday after a one-mile run in his physical education class at Long Beach’s Polytechnic High School.
Alan Tuliau, a member of a family well-known in the Long Beach Samoan-American community, had asthma but no medical or parental restrictions on his participation in gym classes, said Dick Van Der Laan, spokesman for the Long Beach Unified School District. The boy did not complain of discomfort, Van Der Laan said.
The L.A. County coroner’s office is investigating the cause of death.
The boy and other classmates had been running in preparation for a state-mandated fitness test conducted each April, Van Der Laan said. The target time for 14-year-olds is 9 1/2 minutes; Alan finished in 12 minutes, at about 1 p.m. He walked to cool down, sat with other students, then a bit later lay down. Another student thought he had dozed off, but Alan could not be wakened.
A school nurse found a pulse, and she and paramedics administered CPR.
The boy was taken a few blocks away to St. Mary’s Medical Center and was declared dead a short time later, Van Der Laan said.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
