12-year-old boy collapses, dies at elementary school

Rob McMillan Image
Friday, April 15, 2016
12-year-old boy collapses, dies at Colton elementary school
Dominick Gallegos, 12, died after collapsing on a soccer field at Ulysses S. Grant Elementary School in Colton. Now his parents and the school have conflicting stories about what led up to his death.

COLTON, Calif. -- An autopsy performed on the body of a 12-year-old Colton, Calif., boy revealed that he died of an enlarged heart and congestive cardiac failure.



The coroner stated in a report that there was no evidence of trauma on the body of Dominick Gallegos.



Gallegos was playing soccer at Ulysses S. Grant Elementary School in Colton when he suddenly collapsed on the field Tuesday afternoon. The sixth-grader was taken to Arrowhead Regional Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.



The family of the boy said Gallegos didn't collapse, but slipped and fell. They claimed another student then stomped on his chest, causing his death.



Colton Unified School District spokesperson Katie Orloff said there was no information that Dominick's death was trauma related and there was no evidence of an altercation.



Bryant Coria, a student at the school, said he witnessed someone stomping on Dominick's chest after he collapsed.



"When he collapsed, like a kid came and like stomped on him twice and he was unconscious," Bryant said.



He said that's when other students ran to tell teachers that Dominick needed help.



"They just went to tell the teacher that he was laying down and that something had happened to him," Bryant explained.



The district also stated that no students were being disciplined at this time in connection with the incident.



The Colton Police Department said it interviewed several students and stated their witness accounts were consistent, but at this point, said there wasn't an active criminal investigation.



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