A 21-year-old student died Tuesday night while playing basketball with friends in the Allendale Campus Recreation Center.
Grand Valley Police were called to the Rec Center
around 6 p.m. after Shane Anthony Peoples-Welch complained of chest
pains and then fainted while taking a break from playing. Fieldhouse
staff had called an ambulance and were already doing CPR when the
police arrived.
A defibrillator that is kept in the Fieldhouse was
used by officers but could not revive Peoples-Welch. Paramedics with
Life EMS also performed advanced resuscitation efforts that were
also unsuccessful. The Ottawa County medical examiner was called to
the Rec Center. Initial autopsy reports show he died of natural
causes. Toxicology results will take several weeks.
The Counseling Center staff was immediately working
with students in the Rec Center at the time and are continuing to
meet with family, student groups and others connected with the student.
About 200 students gathered in the Kirkhof Center
Tuesday night for a memorial service. Peoples-Welch was a junior
from Saginaw who was working part time at Grand Valley's Pew Campus
Security. He was studying public administration in the College of
Community and Public Service.
