12-year-old Texas football player dies days after being bitten by fire ants during halftime

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – A 12-year-old Texas boy has died after apparently suffering a severe allergic reaction to ant bites while warming up for the second half of a middle school football game.

Officials confirmed Tuesday that Cameron Espinosa died days after being bitten multiple times by fire ants. Corpus Christi school district spokeswoman Lorette Williams says the boy used a water bottle to try and remove the ants, but he eventually fell unconscious last Wednesday. He was taken to a hospital and was hospitalized in critical condition. The eighth-grader died Monday.

The game resumed after Cameron was transported to the hospital, but it was later halted when the severity of his condition became apparent.

Williams says the boy didn’t know he was allergic to ants. The district had no record of allergies.

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