This is such a tragedy. Kids have been playing sports in the street, and on the sidewalk for years, and boxing is considered a sport. Not to say that what they were doing was safe, but they were just being kids. I feel really bad for this child's family, but I feel even worse for that poor kid who threw that punch. He will have to live with this for the rest of his life.

Authorities: Jersey City boy who died while boxing may have had heart condition

by The Star-Ledger Continuous News Desk
Thursday April 09, 2009, 4:11 PM


A photo of Ian Artola, part of the memorial to him at the park where he collapsed Wednesday night.

An autopsy performed today suggests Ian Artola, a 14-year-old Jersey City boy who collapsed Wednesday night during an unsupervised boxing match, may have died as a result of a pre-existing heart condition, according to a report in The Jersey Journal.

Artola fell unconscious to the surface of a tennis court at Edward Crincoli Park in Jersey City during the match, the report said. Hudson County Prosecutor Edward DeFazio said an autopsy performed at the state Regional Medical Examiner's Office in Newark found a preliminary indication of a heart condition that will require further studies to confirm, according to the report.

The autopsy said the boy's death was not caused by trauma related to boxing or his fall, according to the report.

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Autopsy: 14-year-old who died in unsupervised boxing match could have had pre-existing heart condition

by Michaelangelo Conte/The Jersey Journal
Thursday April 09, 2009

It's possible a pre-existing heart condition was a factor in the death of the 14-year-old Jersey City boy who died shortly after falling unconscious during an unsupervised boxing match in a city park yesterday, officials said this afternoon.

"There was some preliminary indication that there was a pre-existing heart condition, but at this point the cause of death is pending further medical studies," said Hudson Prosecutor Edward DeFazio of Ian Artola who passed out and later died after the bout at Edward Crincoli Park yesterday evening.

The prosecutor said further tests to determine the cause of Ian's death "could take a substantial period of time."

The autopsy performed today at the state Regional Medical Examiner's Office in Newark found Ian had suffered no trauma consistent with causing his death, neither as a result of boxing or as a result of his collapse to the surface of the park tennis court at Terrace Avenue and Thorne Street.

"There is some indication from people who were there that (Ian) complained of shortness of breath but he continued to engage in the activity, and he was hit in the chest and collapsed," DeFazio said.

"His friends tried to help him and obviously police and EMTs responded and he was pronounced dead in the emergency room at Christ Hospital."

It appears Ian and the 14-year-old boy he was boxing with were wearing boxing gloves, DeFazio said.

It does not appear that either boy was wearing protective headgear, but DeFazio said there is no indication there was any significant head injury from a blow or fall. Police have interviewed the boy who was boxing Ian as well as other witnesses. They have not released the boy's name.

"Clearly at this point there does not appear to be any criminality," the prosecutor said. "It could be a natural death due to the strenuous activity, coupled with a pre-existing condition, but it must be noted that the cause of death is pending further studies."

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Community reacts to tragic death of 14-year-old Ian Artola

by Michaelangelo Conte/The Jersey Journal
Thursday April 09, 2009, 12:34 PM


Residents rushed to their porches last night as police and ambulance sirens ripped through their neighborhood and looked on as a 14-year-old boy was rushed away and later pronounced dead following an unsupervised boxing match in a public park.

"I heard sirens so I went out and I saw three ambulances and then five police cars and then I saw a police sergeant, I knew it was bad," said Paul Gleason, who walked back to Edward Crincoli Park at Thorne Street and Terrace Avenue this morning to leave candles at the makeshift memorial for Ian Artola.
Michaelangelo Conte/The Jersey JournalHeights residents Ellen Greco, left, and Paul Gleason light candles at a memorial for Ian Artola who died after being punched in the chest during an unsupervised boxing match in the Jersey City Heights.

"He didn't look so good," Gleason said of Ian, who he said was unconscious and blue as emergency medical technicians carried him up the steps from the park, located on the steep slope angling down westward from the Heights.

"There was a lady saying 'My son. My son' and another lady was trying to tell her what happened," Gleason said this morning. "She said the kid got hit and he went down and he was out for a couple of minutes and then he got up for a couple of second and then he went down again and he didn't get up."

Gleason said there was also a very traumatized boy standing near on Terrace Avenue above the park.

"I guess the kid was the other fighter and he was crying and he didn't know what to do," Gleason said.

"I felt so bad for him. I guess he was his friend," said Gleason, adding that all the boys there seemed to be in public school uniforms. He said there were a few girls in the park, too, and they were all crying.

A police officer was carrying a pair of boxing gloves that apparently were worn by Ian during the bout on the park tennis courts, Gleason said. A resident who stopped in the park to see the memorial said boys have been boxing on the courts at least since last summer.

Greco felt for the mother saying she had lost a child herself. She also worried about the weight that would be carried by the boy who had been boxing against Ian.

"He's got to live with this the rest of his life," Greco said of the Ian's opponent. "It's got to be an awful thing for someone to live with, especially someone that young."

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2009 ... y_boy_who_died_in_bo.html

SkepticalHook-you are an absolute clown. these kids are 14 yrs old and it wasnt past a curfew. The kid was hit in the chest 1x. He either had a heart defect or the punch just happened to stop his heartbeat.

This happens in many sports inc lacrosse, baseball, football etc. Last time I checked head gear doesnt protect the chest area. They were wearing boxing gloves which have padding and do offer protection against these types of injuries.

Its a freak accident bottom line. Stop whining and trying to blame someone. No normal parents watch their child 24-7. the kids were in a park across the street from their houses.

now is the time to mourn rather than finger point and accuse the parents of neglect.

RIP

Quote:

First, who is to say it was only a blow to the chest--could have been head too--I'd note there is no mention of headgear, which is mandatory for any official sparring with juveniles.

Second, while this is clearly a tragedy, and I am sure the parents were loving, caring, blah blah blah, it is the parents and people "supervising" this horrific activity who are ultimately responsible, and should be prosecuted. But for their negligence, this kid would be alive.

a blow to the chest from anything - a fist, a baseball, a fellow football player's head - can stop the heart immediately.

this is so tragic. my heart goes out to this boy's family.

far too often people underestimate the destructive capabilities a thrown punch can have.

hands are hard and heavy and if you are hit especially when you don't see it coming, death can result, without question.

watching two people fighting always gave me a sick feeling in my stomach.......it's flat out ugly to watch. tragedies like this remind me how dangerous fighting can be.

14-year-old dies in neighborhood boxing tragedy

Thursday, April 09, 2009
By KEN THORBOURNE and CHARLES HACK
JOURNAL STAFF WRITERS

Ian Artola, of Bowers Street, died after he was punched in the chest and suffered cardiac arrest, Hudson County Prosecutor Edward DeFazio said last night.

The boy was rushed to Christ Hospital, where he pronounced dead at 5:50 p.m., DeFazio said.

The boy's mother, Sandra Artola, was inconsolable last night.

"My son is dead, my son is dead," is all she could manage to say during a brief phone conversation.

Both teens were wearing boxing gloves as several spectators watched them spar at about 5:30 p.m. inside the park at Terrace Avenue and Thorne Street, officials said.

When the boy collapsed, several juveniles tried to revive him and summoned police and ambulances to the scene, officials said.

"There were other juveniles present at the scene who we have spoken to and they tried to help, but that was apparently fruitless," DeFazio said.

Christian Nguyen, who lives near the park, said the accident doesn't shock him.

"It's like a little fight club," Nguyen said about a group of teens he sees gather at the park. "They usually grapple at night."

Based on his preliminary information, the death is a tragic accident, DeFazio said. "They (the two 14-year-olds) were not strangers and there was not any intent to cause serious bodily injury," DeFazio said. "This was play.

"Clearly there was no bodily trauma that was inflicted that in the normal course would be expected to cause serious bodily injury or death. It was an unintended consequence, an accident," he added.

An autopsy scheduled to be performed today will confirm the cause and manner of death and could also reveal if Ian had a pre-existing condition that led to the tragedy, DeFazio said.