South Jersey Boy Dies: Chased Ball, Fell Through Ice, Cops Say

A 14-year-old boy from New Jersey has died after chasing a ball and falling through the ice, officials announced this week.

Zayquan Wheeler, 14, fell through the ice at Cadwalader Park in Trenton Sunday afternoon when a basketball rolled onto it at the Delaware & Raritan Canal, police told nj.com. Emergency personnel pulled him from the water and the boy was rushed to Capital Health Regional Medical Center.

“I want to express my deepest condolences to Zay’Quan Wheeler’s friends and family," Mayor Reed Gusciora said in an nj.com article. “I want them to know the Trenton community is here for them during this difficult time.”

The boy and three other juveniles were in the 200 block of the Parkside Avenue section of Cadwalader Park at the courts playing basketball around 12:30 p.m when the incident happened, according to The Trentonian. Wheeler was underwater for a period of time before fire department personnel pulled the juvenile out of the canal, according to the report.

Wheeler was ultimately later flown to Children's Hospital of Philadelphia where he was pronounced dead Monday afternoon, according to the the report.

Family members and friends paid tribute on social media:

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