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Police were called around 11:30 a.m. when a 15-year-old girl collapsed from heat exhaustion more than two hours after the start of a 5K Big North Conference event featuring runners from various Bergen and Passaic county high schools, Lt. Scott Cherven told CLIFFVIEW PILOT.
Three others suffered the same fate, as well as a fifth teen who had an asthma attack — all at or near the end of the race, the lieutenant said.
“It reached 90 degrees this morning,” Cherven said, adding that athletic trainers were the only personnel available to immediately treat the runners.
“Once the responding officer realized the potential in that heat, everything was stopped until EMS arrived,” the lieutenant said.
Two of the teens were taken to the Valley Hospital and one to Good Samaritan Hospital in Suffern.
“Fortunately no one was seriously injured,” Cherven said. “It was just a matter of getting them enough fluids.
“Our recommendation was that in the future they be sure to have the proper personnel there or postpone the race when they have this kind of weather.”
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