Kenney Bui, a senior at Evergreen High, died Monday from injuries he suffered during a football game Friday night, according to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.
Bui, 17, was playing defensive back against Highline High School and was injured while making a tackle in the fourth quarter. He was taken by ambulance to the hospital and the remainder of the game was canceled.
“It is with great sadness that School Board President Bernie Dorsey and I share with you that TEC High School senior Kenney Bui, who was critically injured in Friday night’s Evergreen vs. Highline football game, died this morning at the hospital,” Highline Public Schools Superintendent Susan Edfield said in a statement.
“This is a devastating loss for all of us — Evergreen students, families, and staff, and our entire Highline community. Our deepest condolences go out to Kenney’s family and all who knew him. Please join us in keeping them in your thoughts and prayers.”
He had undergone emergency surgery for a brain injury, according to reports. An autopsy will be scheduled to determine the official cause of death.
Bui was listed in critical condition as of Sunday, a hospital spokeswoman told The Seattle Times. His family had requested privacy and has not commented.
A vigil was scheduled for later Monday night.
The school district has canceled Evergreen’s scheduled game Friday against Lindbergh.
Bui becomes the fourth high school football player to die because of an on-field injury in the last month. His death follows the passing of Tyrell Cameron from Franklin Parrish (La.), who suffered a neck injury; Ben Hamm from Wesleyan Christian School (Bartlesville, Okla.), who died eight days after a hit to the head; and Evan Murray (Warren Hills, N.J., Regional), who died from bleeding caused by a lacerated spleen.
Bui was one of two Seattle area football players who had been hospitalized after serious injuries suffered Friday night while making tackles.
David Young, a senior at Adna (Chehalis, Wash.), suffered a broken bone in his neck, coach K.C. Johnson told The Seattle Times, and is in serious condition. He has been fitted with a halo brace.
Young was injured on the fifth play of the game. He walked off the field and then complained of neck pain. The coaches pulled him from the game and said he needed to be examined. Young went to the hospital.
“We couldn’t have better news on our end,” Johnson told The Times. “We’re really, really lucky that he’s OK.”
The injuries to Bui and Young came a week after another player in the Seattle area, Ramon Angel-Oros from Pateros High, collapsed during a game. He had surgery to relieve swelling in his brain and doctors fear he could be paraplegic. His family says he has been able to move one of his arms and one of his legs a little bit.
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