Two high school basketball coaches in Atlanta have been charged with second-degree murder after one of their players collapsed during outdoor conditioning drills in August 2019.
A grand jury found that Larosa Maria Walker-Asekere and Dwight Broom Palmer were to blame for “conducting outdoor conditioning training for student-athletes in dangerous heat,” which led to the death of 16-year-old Imani Bell.
On August 13, 2019, the heat index rose to 106 degrees Fahrenheit the day of Bell’s collapse.
The autopsy report revealed that on the last lap of the conditioning drill that day, which included running a set of stairs, Palmer noticed Bell was exhausted, so “he started walking the last lap with her and encouraged her.”
The coaches provided Bell with water, but when the teen reached the top of the stairs, she “leaned into the rail and then went limp,” court documents stated.
They have been charged with second-degree murder, second-degree child cruelty, involuntary manslaughter, and reckless conduct charges.
