Sad news ..... thgughts and prayers to friends and family.
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49ers lineman collapses, dies
By Matthew Barrows -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PDT Sunday, August 21, 2005
DENVER - The 49ers' second preseason game turned tragic Saturday when backup guard Thomas Herrion died at a Denver hospital shortly after the team's loss to the Broncos.
Teammates said coach Mike Nolan had just called the team together for a postgame meeting when the 23-year-old Herrion collapsed in the locker room. About fifteen minutes later, the 315-pound guard was loaded into the back of an ambulance while emergency medical technicians tried to resuscitate him. He was taken to St. Anthony Central Hospital in Denver, where he was later pronounced dead, the team confirmed early Sunday morning. The cause of death is unknown.
"This is a colossal tragedy for the 49ers and the entire NFL community. Our thoughts and prayers are with the entire Herrion family," team spokesman Aaron Salkin said. He added that Nolan informed the team at the airport before leaving Denver.
Shortly after Herrion was taken away, players and team employees emerged from the 49ers' locker room visibly shaken but hoping for the best.
Defensive end Marques Douglas said that after Herrion went down, teammates cleared a space for trainers and medical staff and prayed.
"There was excellent medical attention to him," Douglas said shortly after the game. "We feel confident now it's in God's hands."
Coach Mike Nolan said it was unclear what caused the collapse.
Television footage showed Herrion walking off the field following the game, and there was nothing to suggest he was stricken in any way.
"We all saw him leave the locker room on a stretcher," Nolan said. "I don't know anything further than that because we were all told to stay back so the medical staff could do their work."
There have been several other deaths related to college and professional football over the years, including the 1971 death of Detroit Lions receiver Chuck Hughes, who succumbed during a game against the Chicago Bears. Al Lucas, who played two years for the Carolina Panthers, died in April from a spinal cord injury he suffered in an Arena Football League game against the Los Angeles Avengers.
Herrion's death comes four years after Minnesota Vikings tackle Korey Stringer collapsed from heat stroke at the team's Mankato, Minn., training camp facility and died 15 hours later.
The temperature that day was in the low 90s, and Stringer had a body temperature of 108.8 degrees when he was rushed to the hospital.
Thunderstorms passed over Denver's Invesco Field shortly before game time, lowering the temperature to 70 degrees with 42 percent humidity at kickoff. Listed as a third-string left guard on the team's depth chart, Herrion was on the field during the 49ers' final touchdown drive in the waning moments of the game. The 49ers ran 16 plays, many of them in their hurry-up offense, before backup quarterback Cody Pickett scored on a 23-yard touchdown run. Herrion was flagged for an illegal-use-of-hands penalty on the 12th play of the drive. Herrion grew up in Fort Worth, Texas, and played collegiately at Utah, blocking for current teammate Alex Smith in 2003. He was originally signed by the Dallas Cowboys in 2004 as an undrafted free agent before being cut. The 49ers signed him to their practice squad in December and this spring allocated him to the Hamburg Sea Devils of NFL Europe.
http://www.sacbee.com/content/sports/football/sf_49ers/story/13453337p-14294359c.html
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