Sixteen-year-old boy suddenly collapses and dies during high school basketball practice

A teenager from Queens suddenly collapsed and died during basketball practice at the school on Wednesday, leaving his family and officials seeking answers.

16-year-old Lenny Pierre had a beautiful Christmas celebration, and nothing was wrong with him the next morning when he texted his mother that he was going to practice.

"OK, be careful," replied Edna Georges, Pierre’s mother.

"I have a good one," she said, before pausing with the tragic realization. "Had. God."

Pierre was at practice inside John Browne High School in Flushing when he began to complain of dizziness and vomited before collapsing, reports CBS New York.

The emergency officers found him unconscious and unresponsive. They transported him to New York Presbyterian Hospital Queens, where he was pronounced dead.

Georges arrived at the hospital to find her son hooked up to a machine. She told News 4 that Pierre had no prior health problems and that he took a physical before playing basketball.

Georges added:

"I have a healthy boy," she said. "I don't know what went wrong, to tell you the truth. He was not allergic to anything. He was not on any medication. Healthy as you could imagine."

In another interview, the grieving mother said that her son died doing what he loves. “He died doing what he loves and I just want the world to know I lost a great person,” she stated.

A particularly painful moment came when Georges was describing how sweet and good-natured her firstborn was.

"I have a good one," she said, before pausing with the tragic realization. "Had. God."

One neighbor, Leah, described the late teen as the “sweetest child.”

“Out of the kids in this neighborhood he’s one of the few kids that goes to school, goes to his sports, and minds his business. …A lot of kids his age you’ll see on the corner, but never him.”

Schools chancellor Richard Carranza described the incident as a “tragic loss” and Mayor of New York, Bill de Blasio, mourned Pierre in a statement, saying:

"As a parent, and as a father of student athletes, I can only imagine the pain and sorrow being felt by Lenny's family, loved ones and classmates. On behalf of 8.6 million New Yorkers, I extend our deepest condolences. We will be with this family now and in the future as we mourn the loss of one of our city's children."

Our thoughts and prayers are with the grieving family at this difficult time.