A Michigan high school baseball player has died two weeks after he was knocked out in a “freak accident” during a game.
Cooper Gardner collided with a runner while trying to tag him out at second base, which left him unconscious for 40 minutes.
The youngster had kneeled down to catch a ball and make the tag when the runner accidentally kneed him in the head and fell on top of him, according to reports.
Cooper, a junior at Bath High School, died at home on Sunday.
After the incident against St Patrick Catholic School last month, Cooper was taken to the hospital, where he was treated for traumatic brain injury as well as heart and lung complications, according to a GoFundMe page.
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He spent six days in the intensive care unit before he was moved to a regular hospital room and released home.
“I never would have thought it would lead to this,” junior varsity coach Michael Collins told the Lansing State Journal.
“If you had a bad day, you could go to practice and see his smiling face and all is right in the world.
“As smart as can be, had everything in front of him. Good student, humble kid … he was just too young.”
