Teenager dies after freak basketball incident

Deepa Bharath

COSTA MESA -- A teenager died Monday night after a basketball

backboard crashed down onto his head as he possibly tried to slam-dunk,

police officials said.

Jose Emmanuel Nieto, 17, was playing basketball in the frontyard with

some friends about 3 p.m. Monday when the freak incident happened, said

Costa Mesa Police Lt. Dale Birney.

The hoop that was attached to the garage roof dislodged and collapsed

on the boy, he said.

“We don’t know if he was trying to slam-dunk or just hanging onto it

or grabbing it trying to do something else,” Birney said.

He said Nieto continued to play with his friends after the incident

and after awhile went inside the house and fell asleep.

“He never woke up and wasn’t breathing, and that’s when his friends

called the police,” Birney said.

He said Nieto was not breathing when paramedics arrived at the scene.

Nieto was taken to Hoag Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead,

Birney said.

“I’ve never seen any incident like this one,” he said. “I’ve seen kids

in athletic teams get hurt, but this is just recreational.”

Birney added that there seemed to be no suspicious circumstances

leading to Nieto’s death.

The Orange County coroner performed an initial autopsy Tuesday, but it

proved inconclusive, officials said. They said more tests will be

performed, but the results aren’t expected for four to six weeks.

Nieto was renting a room at the house in the 600 block of Surf Street,

said Areli Moreno, who said Nieto was her husband’s cousin. She and about

eight other family members live in the same house.

“He was a really happy person,” she said about the boy. “Still like a

little kid.”

Moreno said Nieto’s parents live in Mexico and that he did not go to

school but performed occasional paint jobs.

“It’s such a big shock to all of us,” Moreno said. “We still can’t

believe it happened.”

* Deepa Bharath covers public safety and courts. She may be reached at

(949) 574-4226 or by e-mail at o7 deepa.bharath@latimes.comf7 .