Overview

• The Haltom Middle School player collapsed near the sideline at Trinity High School during a seventh-grade game against Euless Junior High in HEB ISD.
• An on-site Texas Health athletic trainer called Trinity High assistant trainer Saad Rajabali, who brought an AED, delivered a shock and performed chest compressions until the boy began breathing.
• The student, identified by family as 12-year-old Andrew Garcia, was taken to Cook Children’s Hospital; officials report he is alert and recovering, and his family says he remains in the ICU as tests continue.
• District leaders credit HEB ISD’s Cardiac Emergency Response Plan—developed with the American Heart Association and drilled for about 18 months—for the coordinated, rapid response.
• Texas now requires all districts to implement CERPs and train students on CPR and AEDs, and officials say Monday’s outcome shows the value of statewide preparedness.