An 11th-grade student on Long Island has died after suffering a serious injury in what district officials say was a "horrific accident" during an off-season football practice at his high school.
Joshua Mileto, 16, had been participating in a strength and conditioning camp on the Sachem East High School field in Farmingville. One of the exercises involved a group of athletes carrying a log over their heads, according to police. The log fell and hit Mileto in the head around 8:30 a.m.
He was taken to Stony Brook University Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Equipment was scattered across the football field as if the practice had ended abruptly. The teen's teammates had rushed to the hospital with him, sources say, and investigators are speaking to the players.
Six coaches were on hand when Mileto was injured, police said.
The school district released a statement saying it was "devastated by this horrific accident and words cannot express the grief we feel as a school community."
"We extend our deepest condolences to the student's family and friends during this terribly difficult time," the statement continued. "We have enacted our Crisis Intervention Team and support services will be made available to students and staff for as long as needed as we mourn and try to cope with this loss."
All athletic and school-related activities, as well as community-based group activities, were canceled Thursday at school buildings districtwide.
