Here we have yet another tragic incident where a young child has mysteriously collapsed and passed away suddenly without warning. There’s a lot of speculation on what could’ve happened to this poor teen.
It is with a heavy heart that we report the tragic news of the passing of Elijah-Jay Mariano Rivera, a 15-year-old football player from Windsor High School in Connecticut. On Tuesday, October 11, he experienced a medical emergency during practice and later died at Connecticut Children’s Medical Center in Hartford.
Elijah was participating in football practice alongside his teammates on Tuesday when he suddenly fell unconscious. His coaches quickly administered first aid until emergency personnel arrived to perform CPR but unfortunately it was too late; he had already passed away.
His cause of death remains unknown as an official from the state’s Office of the Chief Medical Examiner said it would likely take several days for autopsy results to be available.
Elijah was new to the school, having recently moved to Windsor from Texas—which is why his fellow players affectionately nicknamed him ‘Big Texas’. He reportedly stood 6 feet 2 inches tall and weighed 291 pounds according to MaxPreps and played offensive guard.
Although new to Windsor, Elijah quickly made friends due to his kind and uplifting personality; one teammate described him as “a great dude, uplifting dude. Every time you see him he has just smiles on his face. He loved to be around and just loved the community. He was a great, genuine guy.” A vigil for Elijah took place on Tuesday night where friends and family lit candles in the form of his jersey number “65” while teammates vowed they would carry his jersey onto the field for their next game.
Chastity Hernandez, Elijah’s mother spoke highly of her son who she described as “the most kind hearted boy” who was also “the tallest” out of all her children; she went on to say that he was a “gentle giant”.
Gone from our sight but never from our hearts we mourn the passing of Elijah-Jay Mariano Rivera, an amazing son, brother, athlete, student and friend. #65 Forever in our hearts. We will miss you Big Texas, Love you. This season is dedicated to you and Coach Knight #LL65 #Family pic.twitter.com/1XpDuzoU44
— Windsor Football (@WHSFootballCT) October 11, 2023
