CLAYTON COUNTY, Ga. — The 16-year-old Clayton County student athlete who collapsed during conditioning drills this summer in extreme heat later died from a heat stroke, according to a GBI autopsy.
Imani Bell suffered from hyperthermia and rhabdomyolysis after exercising Aug. 13 in temperatures that reached as high as 97 degrees with a heat index of 103 degrees. The teen, a student at Clayton’s Elite Scholars Academy, was working out with members of her basketball team when she collapsed after climbing stairs.
[RELATED: Family of student who died during practice says someone needs to be held responsible]
The conditioning drills may have violated the county’s guidelines on outdoor workouts. In a policy titled “Heat advisory precautions for physical education/school day activities,” the Clayton School’s policy mandates that all outside activities -- including physical education classes -- are to be suspended when the heat index is 95 degrees and above.
The school system said there was no heat advisory warning staff to keep kids inside because of the extreme heat that day.
This article was written by Leon Stafford with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
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