Two high school basketball coaches have been charged with second-degree murder in the death of a 16-year-old girl who collapsed during practice, NBC News reports
Larosa Maria Walker-Asekere and Dwight Broom Palmer are facing charges of second-degree murder, second-degree child cruelty, involuntary manslaughter, and reckless conduct. A Clayton County grand jury returned an indictment charging the two, who were deemed responsible for the August 2019 death of 16-year-old Imani Bell.
The girl collapsed as temperatures reached the high ‘90s, with a medical examiner finding that she suffered from a heart attack due to the extreme heat, which also resulted in her getting hyperthermia and rhabdomyolysis. She was taken to the hospital after collapsing, but died later that evening.
Walker-Asekere was the head basketball coach at Elite Scholars Academy at the time of the practice, and Palmer was an assistant, family attorney Justin Miller said. They were both present and in charge of the children at the practice at the time Bell collapsed.
“The incident in question did not have to happen,” said Miller. Per the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Imani’s father, Eric Bell, called the news a “bittersweet day for the family.” He added, “My wife’s birthday was a couple of days ago. Imani’s death day is August 13. It’s just a time of grieving.”
“Defendants observed Imani experiencing early signs of heat illness during the outdoor practice but nevertheless directed Imani to continue performing the conditioning drills with her team and directed Imani to run up the stadium steps,” reads the wrongful-death lawsuit that Bell’s family filed against the coaches in February, per 11Alive. The lawsuit is still ongoing and is separate to the charges the two coaches are facing.
The lawsuit additionally claims that Bell was so visibly exhausted, that she had to hold “onto the railing to remain upright.” Despite expressing her concerns amid the high temperatures, she was told to continue practicing by the coaches. “As Imani neared the top of the stadium steps, she suddenly collapsed and lost consciousness due to the extreme heat and humidity," the lawsuit reads.
On the day she collapsed, the heat index for the area in which the school was located was somewhere between 101 and 106 degrees fahrenheit. A heat advisory was issued for the area at the time, and the coaches have been heavily criticized for not keeping the weather in mind when hosting the outdoor practice session. Eric Bell is a coach at another school in the area, and said that he canceled his practice that same day due to concerns regarding the high heat readings.
As of right now, it’s unclear if the two coaches are still employed at the Elite Scholars Academy of the Clayton County Public Schools district.
