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Saturday, October 15, 2005
Hawks’ Collier dies of apparent heart attack
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Atlanta Hawks center Jason Collier died early Saturday morning of an apparent heart attack. He was 28.
Collier experienced trouble breathing at 2:30 a.m. Saturday and his wife performed CPR and called 911. He was taken to Northside Hospital in Forsyth County, where he was pronounced dead.
Collier did not have any diagnosed health problems, his father, Jeff, told the Associated Press. Jeff Collier said he received a phone call at 3:30 a.m. Saturday from Jason’s wife, Katie, who said he was having trouble breathing and quickly turned blue. “Total shock,â€? Jeff Collier said of his reaction. “You get a call and it’s your daughter-in-law crying saying she’s giving him CPR and trying to keep him going. I guess it took a while for the paramedics to get there. He had a slight pulse when they took him and he passed away in the ambulance while they took him to the hospital.â€? Hawks players were notified of Collier’s death at 9:30 a.m. Saturday morning before a scheduled workout was cancelled.
Collier, who played at Georgia Tech, was the longest tenured Hawk player, joining the team for the 2003-04 season after spending three seasons in Houston.
He is survived by a wife and daughter.
