Tragedy struck a central Pennsylvania town this week.
A college baseball player was fatally injured after he was struck in the face when a makeshift dugout unexpectedly collapsed on him and two others. Angel Mercado, a 19-year-old who just finished up his freshman year at Division II Central Penn College, was playing in a summer recreation league that held its games and practices in a local park in Harrisburg.
Mercado was volunteering to help get a field ready for himself and his teammates. Mercado’s coach had built a makeshift dugout out of wood on Sunday but was later told by city officials that it was illegal and therefore had to come down. As Mercado and others began dismantling the dugout, it unexpectedly collapsed and struck him in the face.
After the dugout collapsed, Mercado was not breathing and had to be revived by first responders, who performed CPR on the scene. He was taken to a local hospital, where he later died. Mercado had suffered a traumatic head injury, which had been ruled as a cause of death, according to USA Today. The death has since been ruled an accident.
The University released a statement earlier this week, honoring Mercado:
Our Central Penn College family is devastated by the loss of Angel. As friends who have become family, we are mourning the heart-wrenching loss of one of our own, a promising young athlete who senselessly lost his life while helping others enjoy the sport he loved so much.
No words can adequately express our anguish.
