Spectator dies of heart attack at game
By Jason McFarley
News Writer
An elderly man died of a heart attack Saturday in the upper level of Notre Dame Stadium during the final minutes of the football game, University officials said.
The man, whose name was not being released Sunday, suffered a "massive cardiac arrest and didn't respond to resuscitation," said Ann Kleva, director of University Health Services.
The Northbrook, Ill., man was about 70 years old, said Chuck Hurley, St. Joseph County coroner and assistant director of Notre Dame Security/Police. He collapsed about 4 p.m. in his seat in Section 118 of the Stadium as the clock expired in Notre Dame's 25-23 win over Michigan.
Nearby spectators performed cardiopulminary resuscitation on the man but couldn't revive him, Hurley said. Notre Dame and South Bend fire personnel used a defribilator on him but were also unsuccessful.
Susan Federico was sitting in Row 25 at the south end zone of the Stadium when the man collapsed in the row behind her.
"We were just standing, watching the game, when I looked around and saw people around him doing CPR," said Federico, of Pass Christian, Miss., whose son Chris is a Notre Dame junior. "I immediately just started yelling for a doctor."
At least six spectators responded to the cry for help, including three who identified themselves as cardiologists, Federico said. Fifteen to 20 minutes passed, she said, before police and fire officials reached the man in the sellout crowd of more than 80,000 people.
"Granted, we were in one of the worst possible locations in the stands," she said, "but it was amazing how long it took to get help."
Rescue workers man two emergency stations, one each at the northeast and southwest corners of the Stadium, said Hurley, of NDSP. Personnel from both stations responded Saturday, he said.
A South Bend fire crew transported the man's body to the morgue at Memorial Hospital.
The man attended the game with at least one male friend, Hurley said. Hurley and witnesses said they were not sure if the man was a Notre Dame or Michigan fan.
The Saturday death wasn't the first in Notre Dame Stadium. Fans die of health problems every year inside the venue, Hurley said.
Last year, two or three people died in the stands, he said.
All News Stories for Monday, September 16, 2002
