Rhode Island girl collapses at soccer game, dies at hospital

RICHMOND, R.I. — A Rhode Island school district is mourning the death of a popular student-athlete.

Chariho Regional School District Superintendent Barry Ricci says 17-year-old senior Maddie Potts collapsed during a soccer match on Saturday and died at the hospital of a brain aneurysm on Sunday.

He said in a statement that her death was unrelated to the game.

Ricci says the Richmond resident was captain of the soccer team, a member of the school’s lacrosse team and a top student.

In a statement, Ricci said Potts “represented the very best of our school as an artist, an athlete, a classmate, a teammate and a friend.”

Ricci said counseling would be available to students and staff in the middle and high schools starting Monday.