High School Lacrosse Player Dies After Getting Struck with Ball to His Neck During Recruiting Event

NEED TO KNOW

• A Washington high school sophomore died on June 7, about a week after he was severely injured while playing lacrosse

• Eliot Abramson was rushed to a local hospital after a ball struck him in the back of the neck, just below his helmet

• Mercer Island High School, where Abramson played, said the sophomore’s death was a “heartbreaking” loss for the local community

A Washington community is mourning the tragic death of a high school lacrosse player who died after being injured in a game when he was hit in the back of the neck with a ball.

Mercer Island High School announced that Eliot Abramson died on Sunday, June 7, according to reports by The Mercer Island Reporter, The Seattle Times and local NBC affiliate KING 5.

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“It is with heartbreaking sadness we share devastating news about sophomore Eliot Abramson,” the message to students and parents read, according to the Reporter.

The high school, located about 40 miles north of Tacoma, said the incident happened while Abramson was participating in a college lacrosse recruiting event at Islander Stadium on the southern tip of the Washington state island.

Abramson’s mom, Jessica Abramson, wrote in a social media tribute over the weekend that her son was injured during a game on the evening of June 1, when a ball struck him in the back of the neck, just below his helmet.

A firefighter who was at the game helped keep Abramson’s heart beating before first responders arrived and transported the high schooler to nearby Harborview Medical Center, where he died six days later, his mother said.

Abramson’s mom said her son was injured “playing the sport he loved the most” and said that in his final days in the hospital, he was “surrounded constantly by his family and the immense love from friends and this wonderful community in which we live.”

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“We have read him every note that was sent or posted, and we have heard and told a lot of ‘Eliot stories,’ ” Abramson’s mother wrote. “We have laughed and cried more than we could have imagined, and we have been held up by all your prayers, love and support.”

Abramson’s mother added that he had just received his driver’s license a few months prior to his death and said he chose to be an organ donor.

“We are proud of this decision and the fact that he will be saving many lives,” the grieving mother wrote.

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“While Eliot’s time on earth will end way too soon, we are comforted that he will be in heaven with his dad, making him laugh, playing music with his smile lighting up the room,” Abramson’s mom added. “We’re sure he’ll be doing ‘wall ball’ in the sky and rooting for all his friends.”

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KING 5 reported that a memorial outside the high school’s lacrosse field was “continuing to grow” Monday night as more community members learned the news and that more memorial services were planned for the coming days.

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