PA baseball player dies after sudden dugout collapse
Nineteen-year-old Pennsylvania baseball player Angel Mercado-Ocasio died on Tuesday after a dugout collapsed on him during a recreation league game on Monday.
Mercado-Ocasio and his teammates were taking down makeshift wooden dugouts at the field in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, when one collapsed, and Mercado-Ocasio suffered an ultimately fatal head injury.
Mercado-Ocasio, who played for Central Penn College, was rushed to the hospital but later succumbed to the injury.
Francisco Escudero, one of Mercado-Ocasio's teammates, said, "Angel was more than just a teammate to me and my brothers. Being like 4’11” in high school is challenging, and he didn’t care who we was going up against. I feel like he had whatever in him to try to beat the opponent."
Central Penn College also issued a statement on Mercado-Ocasio's death saying, "Today, we are deeply saddened to share that one of the 19-year-old baseball players seriously injured on Monday as he volunteered in a program unaffiliated with the college, helping with a youth baseball league in the city of Harrisburg, has passed away. It is our understanding that he and others were working on a wooden dugout in a city park at 7th and Radnor Streets in Harrisburg as part of a youth baseball league, when the structure unexpectedly collapsed, causing very serious injuries to two volunteers."
Mercado-Ocasio was reportedly well liked by all and was even on the Dean’s List at Central Penn College. His loss is a terrible tragedy, and he will clearly be missed by many.