An aspiring footballer tragically dropped dead from a sudden illness during a match.
Sterdji Charlotin became unwell while on the sub-bench as his teammates played a match.
The 12-year-old collapsed and died on his way to hospital.
His dad, Junior Charlotin, got a phone call from a doctor and was told to come immediately.
Junior told local media: “When I got to the hospital, I saw that my son had already passed away, but the doctor told me he had arrived dead.
“He had tried to revive his heart, but it wouldn’t start beating again.”
Schoolboy Sterdji was the middle child of a Haitian family that had moved to Brazil in search of a better life.
His mother arrived in 2015, Junior in 2016, and Sterdji and his older brother, in 2019, as reported on Need To Know.
The tragedy happened on Saturday (6 Jul) morning.
Sterdji played football every Saturday morning.
He had been playing for the Pratas da Casa Academy for about a year.
He had taken up the sport when he was just a toddler and he dreamed of turning pro, just like his idol Ronaldinho.
Junior recalled: “I would ask, ‘After you finish school, what do you want to learn?’
“And he would tell me, ‘Dad, there’s only one thing I dream of – becoming a great player.’”
Sterdji’s cause of death was recorded as “natural causes”.
His family said he had no known health issues.
Sterdji was laid to rest in Arroio do Meio on Sunday (7 Jul) morning.
He is survived by his parents, his 16-year-old brother and his one-month-old sister.
The case is not under investigation.
Police chief Juliano Stobbe said: “There was no reported violence, and there were witnesses to the sudden illness.”
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