OKEECHOBEE — State officials are investigating the death of a teen at a juvenile detention center but say that initial reports indicate the staff followed procedure after he collapsed.

Sixteen-year-old Kevin Christie was playing basketball with a group of boys at the Eckerd Youth Development Center in Okeechobee on Friday night when he went to help another teen who had fallen during the game, according to an initial report from the state Department of Juvenile Justice.

Christie then fell backward to the ground and tried to stand up again but fell down again, the report states. Other boys tried to help Christie, who was unresponsive, officials said.

Counselors at Eckerd told state investigators that when they rushed to him, Christie was unconscious and had a weak pulse. He was also breathing sporadically, they said.

Counselors requested support from other staffers at 6:19 p.m., according to the report, and the facility called 911 three minutes later.

Eckerd staff could not use an automated external defibrillator because of Christie’s weak pulse and breathing, the report states. Instead they performed CPR while waiting for paramedics.

Christie was transported to Raulerson Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 7:20 p.m.

Christie was a native of Jamaica who moved to the U.S. when he was 14, officials said. He was living with a family friend in Riverview when he was sentenced to Eckerd on charges stemming from a September 2007 arrest regarding an armed burglary. He was admitted to Eckerd the day before he collapsed.

Officials are waiting on an autopsy report to learn what caused Christie’s death.

Tags: juvenile detention, Okeechobee

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 12th, 2008 at 6:31 pm and is filed under Crime. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.