Nov 10, 2009 6:22 am US/Eastern
VMI To Review Training After Md. Cadet's Death
LEXINGTON, Va. (WJZ) ―
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John Alexander Evans collapses and dies after a workout at the Virginia Military Institute.
CBS
A Maryland family is grieving after their 19-year-old son collapses and dies after a workout at the Virginia Military Institute.
Andrea Fujii has more on the cadet and the circumstances surrounding his death.
That cadet had just finished running 10 miles. Now a medical examiner will have to figure out if that's what killed him.
John Alexander Evans, 19, was chasing his dream of becoming a Marine. On Saturday, the freshman at Virginia Military Institute collapsed in his barracks after completing a 10-mile run with his classmates.
Evans grew up in Clarksville, but graduated from Mount St. Joseph's High School in Baltimore.
"He emailed me a couple of weeks ago and asked me to pray for him," said Mount St. Joseph Principal Brother James Kelly.
The high school principal and the football coach each say they received emails from Evans indicating his freshman year at VMI was proving challenging.
"And the running was giving him a particular hard time because he was a big guy and you go on these marches and it was particularly difficult, but he seemed to be doing well. He was adapting well. It was his dream to go to VMI; that's all he ever talked about," said Chip Armstrong, football coach and teacher.
Faculty and students at the high school and the Virginia Military Institute are grieving, remembering a student many came to know as a gentle giant.
"There was just something very genuine about him. Everybody liked him," said Stephen Harstmann, VMI freshman.
The military institute says it's reviewing its training procedures as a result of Evans' death, but says all students must meet medical standards to be admitted into the school.
A funeral service for Evans is set for Saturday at St. Louis Catholic Church in Clarksville.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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