Boy, 11, dies unexpectedly after playing at waterpark with friends
An 11-year-old boy was enjoying a waterpark with his pals in California when he died suddenly.
Titus Mark Wininger was at Wild Rivers Water Park in Irvine when he suffered a medical emergency around 11am on Saturday.
Firefighters rushed Titus to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead, reported The Orange County Register.
Titus ‘was with his youth group at a water park when he became unresponsive and the medical staff attended to him immediately’, states a GoFundMe page for his mourning family.
His family ‘is still waiting for more information or to understand why’, it states, adding, ‘Please understand their need for privacy during this time.’
The boy from Escondido ‘experienced a non-water, but medical related incident outside one of our pools’, according to Wild River officials on Facebook.
‘Despite the swift response from our team and emergency services, he sadly passed away later at the hospital,’ they wrote.
‘Our hearts go out to the boy’s family and loved ones during this difficult time.’
On Tuesday, a coroner found that Titus had a rare congenital heart defect and died of anomalous insertion of coronary arteries, according to Orange County Sheriff’s Department spokesman Matt Parrish.
An anomalous coronary artery was not formed correctly before birth and is usually ‘in the wrong place or is coming from the wrong place’, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
Up to 1% of the population suffers from the condition and ‘most cases are not dangerous’, according to the clinic.
The GoFundMe page for Titus had raised more than $20,000 as of Wednesday afternoon.
‘While the family is still waiting for more information or to understand why, we would like to meet them with love, support, and a monetary donation that they may need in this time of sorrow,’ states the fundraiser.
‘Please understand their need for privacy during this time.’
Titus died two days before a six-year-old boy died after being discovered unresponsive in a swimming pool on the first day of a summer camp in New Jersey.
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