Harris County High student dies after falling ill at school

A 16-year-old honor student at Harris County High School died today after she fell ill at the campus.

Emergency medical personnel performed CPR while transporting the student to a medical facility in Columbus, Superintendent of Harris County Schools Jimmy Martin said.

“Unfortunately, she didn’t survive,” he said.

Magen Carroll, a sophomore, was pronounced dead at 12:27 p.m. at Midtown Medical Center, Harris County Coroner Joe Weldon said. An autopsy will be performed to determine a cause of death.

Weldon said there was nothing suspicious about the teen’s death, which may be related to a health problem.

The teen was conscious while she was checked by the school nurse. She passed out and the nurse performed CPR.

Martin said the ambulance was called around 11 a.m.

“When she had a heart stoppage, we ended up performing CPR,” the superintendent said.

The death of the student is like having something happen to one of your own, Martin said.

“It really hurts the whole Harris County family,” he said.

When students return to the campus on Wednesday, Martin said extra counselors will be on hand to assist students and school personnel in the grief process.

“It’s like a family,” Martin said. “Everybody supports each other.”

The superintendent said parents send their children to school every day knowing that they are going to return home.

“When something like this happens, I know it’s a nightmare to the family,” he said. “Our hearts go out to them.”

This story was originally published March 22, 2016 at 7:19 PM with the headline "Harris County High student dies after falling ill at school."