The NYPD has identified the 9-year-old boy who died after a soccer goal post fell on his head in Hell's Kitchen yesterday. Tommaso Cerase, who lived with his family on the Upper West Side, was playing soccer at a youth event at Park West High School on West 50th Street when the fatal incident occurred.
The Daily News reports that Tommaso was playing soccer with eight other children at the school's indoor gym, and was hanging off the goal post when it collapsed on top of him. He was taken to Mount Sinai West hospital and declared dead. His mother was at the gym when the goal post collapsed.
“He fell on the ground. Blood came gushing out of his ear. His face turned blue,” witness Dino Dionne, who was arriving at the gym with his children, told the Post.
The game was hosted by soccer school Juventus Academy, and there were three adult supervisors on the scene. Dionne told the Post he saw a man he believed was an assistant coach with the group taking paramedics up to the gym. "He was visibly disturbed, he was breathless. I freaked out," Dionne said.
Department of Education Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña issued a statement saying, "This tragic incident is heartbreaking and our thoughts are with this student’s family and school community during this devastating time."
Tommaso's family, which moved to New York from Dubai in 2016, also issued a statement yesterday: "Today our dearest son Tommaso passed away in an unfortunate accident at his soccer practice. He was full of life and joy. At this moment the family is asking for respect for their privacy so they can continue their process of grieving."
In a Facebook post, de Blasio called Tommaso's death "Heartbreaking."
