Former Stanford Basketball Captain Dies During Game in White Plains

Scarsdale resident Peter Sauer, a former basketball captain at Stanford University, died in White Plains Sunday playing the sport he loved.

The 35-year-old was playing in the annual Open Summer Adult Basketball League—a competitive competition organized by the White Plains Department of Recreation and Parks—at  in White Plains when he collapsed, hit his head and was unable to be revived. 

The Westchester Medical Examiner’s officer said they are currently performing an autopsy to determine the cause of death, and that the results would be available Tuesday afternoon.

Witnesses who contacted LoHud.com reported that the police were slow to arrive to the Ferris Avenue park after multiple calls to 911. LoHud.com said White Plains Public Safety Commissioner David Chong repoted that the first call came in at 8:50 p.m., and that a patrol car arrived six minutes later. Madge Anderson told LoHud.com that she first called at 8:46 p.m., had to make several calls, that 911 personell was rude to her and that when police arrived they slowly moved down the street. Click here to read that story.

This is what Chong told us:

“The original 911 call came in at 8:46 p.m. and was garbled about a man who had fallen playing basketball,” said Chong. “Additional calls started to come in and an ambulance and police car was dispatched at 8:48 p.m. once 911 determined that the exact location was the Gardella Park basketball courts.”

Chong said the first police car and ambulance arrived at 8:52 p.m., followed by a second ambulance and more police who performed traffic control due to the large crowd.

“Mr. Sauer was tended to at the scene by EMS personnel, stabilized for transport and rushed to ,” said Chong. “Despite the efforts of all, he unfortunately passed at 9:36 p.m. in the hospital emergency room.” 

Sauer, who recently left his job in finance at Bank of America in New York City, leaves behind his wife Amanda and three children, according to an obituary posted in the New York Times.

Click here to read more about Sauer's athletic legacy on Stanford's website. 

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