Sixth-Grader Dies After Collapsing at Dance Rehearsal

A sixth-grader who collapsed while rehearsing a dance with her classmates at Piru School died after being rushed to the hospital, leaving students and teachers at the close-knit school stunned Tuesday.

Beatrice Meraz, 12, of Piru was practicing a country-Western line dance at 3 p.m. Monday with about 35 other pupils in preparation for the school’s annual dance festival and PTA carnival on Friday night, said her teacher, Joanna Michel.

After Beatrice collapsed on the playground, firefighters, already on campus to treat another student who had been hit by a car, responded immediately. They were attempting to get her vital signs when she told them that she was having trouble breathing and asked if she could lie on her side, said Marlene Davis, Fillmore Unified School District superintendent.

“She rolled over on her stomach and passed out,” Davis said. Beatrice was taken to Santa Paula Memorial Hospital, where she died at 3:44 p.m.

An autopsy completed Tuesday by the Ventura County coroner’s office showed that Beatrice died from “a very rare case of pulmonary embolism,” Deputy Coroner Jim Wingate said.

“A clot formed in her leg, broke loose and got into the lung, leaving the lung unable to properly function,” he said.

Beatrice’s mother, Raquel Mendoza, said she was stunned by her daughter’s death.

“Just that morning, she seemed happy,” she said in Spanish. “She was in such good health, was very active, loved sports and liked to study. She was never sick. This is a horrible surprise.”

Mendoza, unemployed with six other children at home, has no money to pay for her daughter’s funeral.

“The principal of the school and the pastor of our church said we might receive some funds to pay for the funeral,” she said.

Tuesday, news of Beatrice’s death had reached the school’s 400 students and the 14 teachers on campus who teach kindergarten through sixth grade.

“In my class, there was a lot of crying,” Michel said. She said Beatrice was “a typical student with a lot of friends.”

The school district’s crisis team, composed of the district psychologist and counseling personnel, was on campus Tuesday to help pupils deal with their feelings.

“I think that most of the children had a chance to work through their grief,” Michel said. “It was a real positive feeling. They were allowed to make cards for the family, and some of the children made posters and had other children sign them.”

As for Mendoza, the cards and posters will be virtually the only remembrance of her daughter’s short life; financial problems have kept the family from taking many pictures.

“This is so hard for me, because I’m never going to see her again,” Mendoza said.