Bremen Senior's Cause Of Death Will Not Be Known For Weeks: ME

MIDLOTHIAN, IL — It likely will be several weeks before how Cameran Wheatley died is determined after the Bremen High School senior collapsed during a basketball game last week against Chicago High School for Agricultural Studies.

A spokesperson for the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office told Patch on Tuesday that the manner and cause of death is still pending in Wheatley’s case. Wheatley, 17, collapsed around 9:20 on Feb. 8, the school announced.

On Monday night, Chicago Public Schools made its first statement since the incident. CPS school officials extended condolences to Wheatley’s friends and family and said that Chicago Public Schools prioritizes the health and safety of its student-athletes.

Because Wheatley was not a CPS student, officials do not comment on the physical exam requirements of other districts. CPS officials said that the gymnasium at Chicago High School For Agricultural Studies has a defibrillator on site.

First responders arrived at the school within five minutes of Wheatley collapsing and used life-saving measures. The teen was later pronounced dead at Christ Hospital in Oak Lawn.

CPS requires a standard physical exam from its own students who want to participate in a team sport.Physicals do not typically include a stress test, the statement said. If a student has known arrhythmias, their cardiologist may perform a stress test prior to sports participation but stress tests are not a required assessment for sports physicals.

The SPS Board’s policy, amended in December 2021, governs the use of Automatic External Defibrillators (AEDs) at district schools. During the 2019-2020 school year, consultants in the education field assessed the needs for every school throughout the District to identify the quantity and the best locations for these devices, CPS officials said.

Based on these recommendations, the AEDs were installed in the schools in early 2020. In most schools, at least one device is stored in a cabinet in or near the gymnasium. District schools that have a defibrillator have the Cardiac Science Powerheart G5 device that is fully automated with dual-language functionality to coach the user through the event. It assesses a patient's needs and delivers a customized shock at an appropriate level.