Autopsy Doesn’t Reveal How Urso Died.
The reasons for Crew midfielder Kirk Urso’s sudden death on Sunday morning after collapsing at a Columbus bar will not be known for at least another month.
A preliminary autopsy performed yesterday did not determine a cause of death, and Franklin County Coroner Dr. Jan Gorniak said it will take four to six weeks for a toxicology report to be completed. Meanwhile, the Crew will return to training today.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen,” coach Robert Warzycha said. “That’s something that we’re going through for the first time and we’re going to try and get through it. But I don’t think you can separate practice and the things that happened. We’re always going to remember and it’s going to be tough in the beginning, but we’re going to get through it.”
Urso, 22, was recovering from surgery for a sports hernia performed on June?18 and did not accompany the Crew for its game on Saturday at D.C. United. Authorities yesterday released the 911 call.
“It’s a very drunk person who fell down and now is unconscious,” the caller said, noting that officers were with the person. The call was placed at 12:50 a.m. and lasted 18 seconds.
“When we got there, we had an unconscious male that was in full arrest,” Columbus Fire Department battalion chief Mike Fowler told Channel 10. “We had started CPR and started our protocol for that when we went to the hospital.”
Urso was pronounced dead at 1:51 a.m. at Grant Medical Center. Crew players learned the news at a team meeting that morning.
Gorniak said the autopsy did show “nonspecific cardiac changes,” but said that might not have had anything to do with Urso’s death. Urso was not known to have any other medical conditions aside from the recent operation.
In the wake of his death, tributes continued to pour in. Sunday night. FC Dallas defender Matt Hedges gave his jersey to a fan who had made a “R.I.P. Kirk Urso” banner for the team’s game against Portland. Hedges played collegiately at North Carolina with Urso, and afterward told reporters that Urso was a big reason the Tar Heels won the 2011 national championship.
Ian Sarachan, Urso’s agent, described him as a “true professional both on and off the field and a joy to work with. He was really a kid who did everything the right way and never took shortcuts. I admired him for that. He earned everything he got, and I know how proud he was to be a professional and member of the Columbus Crew.”
“We appreciate the support and kind words from everyone,” the Urso family said in a statement. ” Kirk touched so many people and was looking forward to coming back from his injury. The kind messages are what is keeping us going during this hard time.”
The Crew plays host to Toronto F.C. on Saturday. Club officials still are working on how they will pay tribute to Urso.
“I have two boys,” Warzycha said. “I cannot even imagine what the (Urso) family is going through. Obviously, all of us are in constant prayer for the family.”
(Article by Adam Jardy reprinted from The Columbus Dispatch)