A student at Eastlake Middle School in Chula Vista was airlifted from campus Friday morning after a soccer goal post fell on him, officials said.
San Diego Fire-Rescue officials confirmed that medics were called to the school to airlift the child. The student was taken to Rady Children's Hospital with unknown injuries and was breathing when medics airlifted him from the field.
A bystander told NBC 7 he saw first responders arrive at the school's soccer field to treat the student who, in the words of the bystander, was making "some ungodly noises" and appeared to be in a lot of pain.
The school district told NBC 7 the 8th grade student was injured by the falling goal post during PE class. He became trapped underneath the equipment and a teacher attempted to pull him out from under the goal, straining her leg in the process.
Sweetwater Union High School District spokesperson Manny Rubio told NBC 7 these goal posts are standard at every school. They are not normally anchored down because they're meant to be able to be moved around.
"The goal post that we have are pretty standard across the board in terms of what's used by schools; what's used by soccer clubs. They are portable goal post that can be moved. They are pretty top heavy in terms of their medal in the front,” Rubio explained.
Temecula Valley Soccer Academy coach Joe Sotomayor told NBC 7 that these types of goal posts are extremely heavy and should be inspected before each game.
“It takes an effort to bring it down,” said Sotomayor.
He said before soccer games referees are required to make sure the portable post are sturdy. He believes it is a major safety hazard for someone to hang from the post.
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"When you play at schools sometimes the goals are a little older. I've seen big goals that are not sturdy because they've been around forever. Those goals are the heavy ones. You want to feel them and make sure nothing comes down,” he explained.
The accident remains under investigation. At this point, district officials do not know if horseplay was involved. The district sent an email and an automated phone call to parents to inform them of the incident.
One student told NBC 7 that the accident happened while a group of kids played a friendly soccer match.
"He was trying to do pull ups and it fell on his face, and that's when we ran and told the teacher,’ said Eastlake Middle School student Mario Turneo.
As of Friday afternoon the student remained hospitalized in critical condition.
There is no word on if school systems are required to check the soccer goal post before recess or if they go over safety with students.
Check back for updates on this story.
