Father of student who died in PE class seeks change in Modesto schools

In a quiet voice, Alberto Vazquez spoke of his only son, 16-year-old Andy Vazquez, who died after collapsing during gym class at Gregori High on May 4.

“My son comes to the house and tells me, ‘My PE teacher’s gonna kill me one of these days,’ ” Alberto Vazquez told the Modesto City Schools board on Monday night, his voice breaking.

Andy Vazquez, a sophomore who had a pre-existing heart condition, died after a run in physical education class. The family said he had run two miles, but a teacher said it was two laps, or about half a mile. The investigation into his death is expected to take another month.

“My son’s gone. He’s gone forever,” Vazquez told trustees, holding up a poster of his son in a team uniform. Vazquez had stood beside an earlier speaker in the public comments portion of the meeting, volunteer parent advocate Debbie Barrera.

Berrera railed at the board about student injuries, wrapping into her speech her son’s broken arm on a Turlock campus and the deaths, outside school, of two other students.

Returning to Andy Vazquez’s death, she said, “No student should have to die in the arms of a principal.” Barrera demanded that the district provide information to Vazquez and a claim form for damages.

But when the father spoke, he had a different message. He asked the board to make a difference.

“If my son had to die to save any other kid, my son will be happy,” Vazquez said.

It was a poignant follow to another plea to the board, to install defibrillators at schools.

“A young adult athlete dies every three days in the U.S. of sudden cardiac arrest from of an undiagnosed heart condition, most of which could be prevented,” said parent and cardiology nurse practitioner Brian Haverdink, who spoke directly before Vazquez.

“They are available at our malls, airports, some of our area schools including Stockton and Hughson, our churches, places of work, places of workout, our prisons,” Haverdink said, adding, “I’m not sure what the logical reasoning is, why we don’t have these lifesaving devices in our schools.”

Cardiac care institutions would be able to provide the devices and train the staff, he said. “We can all work together to save our children,” he said.

Assembly Bill 2217, passed in September, allows schools to use outside contributions for defibrillators, and a 2012 law provides civil immunity for districts following the law’s guidelines. The California State PTA supports having defibrillators in schools and has developed a partnership with the Via Heart Project to help schools raise money for them.

This story was originally published May 13, 2015 at 10:31 AM with the headline "Father of student who died in PE class seeks change in Modesto schools."