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Ashari Hughes, a 16-year-old sophomore at Desert Oasis High School, died following her flag football game on Jan. 5, 2023.
Published Friday, Jan. 6, 2023 | 8:45 a.m.
Updated Friday, Jan. 6, 2023 | 5:22 p.m.
A Desert Oasis High School student who suffered a medical emergency during an athletic event Thursday night has died, school officials said in a note to parents this morning.
The Clark County Coroner's Office identified the student as 16-year-old Ashari Hughes of Las Vegas. The cause of death had not yet been determined, officials said.
Hughes was participating in a flag football game when the medical episode occurred.
“Staff immediately began providing medical aid and continued until paramedics arrived,” Principal Ian Salzman wrote. “It is with heavy heart that I inform you the student passed away.”
The letter provided no other specifics.
Hughes was passionate, loving and determined, her family said on a GoFundMe page established this afternoon.
She liked music, dancing and being around her loved ones, but football was “the real love of her life,” the Hughes family said in a statement on the site. They said they were thankful she was playing the game she loved.
"Little did we know this would be her final sophomore game," the family said. "She loved hard and was loved by many. She will be missed by all of us."
As of about 2:30 p.m. Friday, the Hughes family had raised $2,355 of a $50,000 goal on GoFundMe.
Clark County School District Superintendent Jesus Jara issued a statement this morning saying "the loss of this young life deeply saddens us, and our thoughts are with the student’s friends, family and loved ones.”
“When a tragedy occurs, it affects not only that school but the entire Clark County School District family, and we grieve with the students, staff and families affected by this loss,” Jara said.
The school, located in the southeast valley, near Cactus Avenue and Rainbow Boulevard, has over 3,000 students.
Salzman advised parents to be on the lookout for any signs of grief or behavioral changes in their children and warned the loss may affect them unexpectedly. "Children may not know how to express themselves and are likely to experience feelings of disbelief, anger and/or grief," he said.
The district's crisis response team is available for anyone who needs its services, Salzman said in his note to parents.
Hughes' death is the second of a Las Vegas high school athlete in the past 18 months.
In July 2021, 13-year-old Cajetan Chinoyelum Nsofor died after collapsing at the beginning an offseason football workout at Legacy High School, where he would have been a freshman.
The Clark County Coroner said he died of cardiac dysrhythmia.
While Hughes' cause of death has not been revealed, the school district said in an email today that all of its coaches are required to train in the use of external defibrillator devices, which are used to shock the heart back into a normal rhythm, and earn CPR certification. Athletic trainers perform a monthly review of emergency action plans for sporting events, the district added. Training covers roles and responsibilities in emergencies, in addition to access plans for first responders.
Student-athletes in the district undergo annual physicals prior to the start of practices and games, the district said. A pre-participation history must also be completed and submitted on their behalf.
Hughes' death also came amid heightened attention to the health of athletes after a professional football player, Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin, went into cardiac arrest and was resuscitated on the field during an NFL game Monday against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Hamlin was recovering in a Cincinnati hospital where his agent reported Friday that Hamlin was breathing on his own and able to speak after having a breathing tube removed.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
