Eric the Red
Team HuskerBoard
Injured player's mom hopes to be spared a third tragedy
BY LYNN SAFRANEK
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER
One of Valincia Lofton-Duncan's sons drowned at a birthday party. Another one was shot and killed in front of her.
Valincia Lofton-Duncan, the mother of critically injured football player Eric Lofton, has borne the loss of two sons.Now, her third son, Eric Lofton, is fighting for his life after suffering a critical head injury Thursday during a high school football game.
"I don't want to lose another child," Lofton-Duncan said Friday, as tears rolled in straight lines down her cheeks.
The next few days will be important for Lofton, who plays receiver and defensive end for Omaha Northwest High School. Doctors are waiting for his condition to stabilize while Lofton remains in a medically induced coma, his mother said.
"The surgeon said he had a lot of blood on his brain where it shouldn't be," she said. "We're just pretty much waiting."
Lofton, 17, went down with three minutes to go Thursday night in the third quarter of Northwest's home game against Burke High School.
He was taken to Creighton University Medical Center in critical condition with a concussion and a head injury, said Steve Eubanks, Northwest's athletic director.
Eric LoftonRoscoe Lofton of Omaha, an uncle of Eric Lofton, said doctors plan to take Eric out of the coma today to see if he can breathe on his own.
Roscoe Lofton said he is confident his nephew will pull through.
"He has everybody's prayers, so I believe he's going to make it out of it."
Lofton is a senior and a starter for the Northwest Huskies' football team. He also was crowned Northwest's homecoming king last week — a surprise honor he hoped to include on his college applications, his mother said.
Northwest students said Friday that Lofton is a popular student who has been pursuing academic scholarships as well as competing in football and track.
He is always surrounded by friends, classmates say.
"He is a loving and caring kid. If you were down, he would cheer you up and make you laugh," said Tina Travis, a 15-year-old Northwest sophomore.
Lofton was inducted Monday into the African American Leadership Association, a group of students selected for their academic standing and in-school leadership.
"He's well-liked by our students and our staff," Eubanks said.
Lofton also is an integral part of Northwest's team — a "talented and gifted young man," he said.
On Thursday, Lofton was playing defensive back when Burke ran the ball up the middle. After the play, Lofton lay motionless on the field before he was helped to the sidelines.
School officials will review what happened — including tapes of the game — to determine when Lofton was injured. Eubanks said Lofton wasn't directly involved in the play.
"That's the most perplexing part about the whole situation," he said. "Perhaps the injury was sustained earlier."
Prior to collapsing, Lofton had not told anyone that he was injured, Eubanks said.
He was "kind of woozy on his feet" when the team's trainer met him on the field and helped him walk to the sidelines, Eubanks said. The trainer determined within a few minutes that an ambulance should be called, Eubanks said.
Northwest has two certified athletic trainers, one full time and one part time. Both were at the game, Eubanks said.
An ambulance was on standby at the field at the beginning of the game, but left to respond to an emergency call, he said. An ambulance returned at 9 p.m. — exactly three minutes after being called to help Lofton, according to 911 records. At 9:09 p.m., Lofton was en route to Creighton.
The game continued, with Burke winning 34-14.
Lofton-Duncan was told that a bystander at the game — a nurse from Methodist Hospital — gave Lofton CPR before the ambulance arrived. On Friday, Lofton-Duncan called that bystander an "angel."
"I believe that she helped save my son's life," she said.
Lofton was checked for a concussion earlier this year after the football team's first game, his mother said. He was given a CAT scan and an X-ray, but the tests showed everything was OK, Lofton-Duncan said.
Doctors told Lofton-Duncan that Lofton's head injury occurred while he was playing in Thursday's game, she said.
Northwest students are making cards for Lofton, and Northwest administrators have received phone calls of support from other schools.
All of Lofton-Duncan's sons have been touched by tragedy.
In 1998, Lofton-Duncan's 7-year-old son, Kevin L. Lofton, drowned while swimming at the Downtown YMCA.
Eric's older brother, Aaron, 18, was killed in February. Aaron Lofton was shot as he and his mother walked home from a convenience store near 40th and Hamilton Streets.
Daunte Goynes, 18, of Omaha, is being held without bail at the Douglas County Correctional Center after being charged with second-degree murder and use of a weapon to commit a felony in Aaron Lofton's death.
Lofton-Duncan has one daughter, Raven, who turned 14 on Wednesday.
"I think the family has gone through a lot," Eubanks said. "I know that the entire family has dealt with that the best they could.
"We are certainly thinking of Eric and praying for him and his family."
World-Herald staff writer Dalton Walker contributed to this report.
BY LYNN SAFRANEK
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER
One of Valincia Lofton-Duncan's sons drowned at a birthday party. Another one was shot and killed in front of her.
Valincia Lofton-Duncan, the mother of critically injured football player Eric Lofton, has borne the loss of two sons.Now, her third son, Eric Lofton, is fighting for his life after suffering a critical head injury Thursday during a high school football game.
"I don't want to lose another child," Lofton-Duncan said Friday, as tears rolled in straight lines down her cheeks.
The next few days will be important for Lofton, who plays receiver and defensive end for Omaha Northwest High School. Doctors are waiting for his condition to stabilize while Lofton remains in a medically induced coma, his mother said.
"The surgeon said he had a lot of blood on his brain where it shouldn't be," she said. "We're just pretty much waiting."
Lofton, 17, went down with three minutes to go Thursday night in the third quarter of Northwest's home game against Burke High School.
He was taken to Creighton University Medical Center in critical condition with a concussion and a head injury, said Steve Eubanks, Northwest's athletic director.
Eric LoftonRoscoe Lofton of Omaha, an uncle of Eric Lofton, said doctors plan to take Eric out of the coma today to see if he can breathe on his own.
Roscoe Lofton said he is confident his nephew will pull through.
"He has everybody's prayers, so I believe he's going to make it out of it."
Lofton is a senior and a starter for the Northwest Huskies' football team. He also was crowned Northwest's homecoming king last week — a surprise honor he hoped to include on his college applications, his mother said.
Northwest students said Friday that Lofton is a popular student who has been pursuing academic scholarships as well as competing in football and track.
He is always surrounded by friends, classmates say.
"He is a loving and caring kid. If you were down, he would cheer you up and make you laugh," said Tina Travis, a 15-year-old Northwest sophomore.
Lofton was inducted Monday into the African American Leadership Association, a group of students selected for their academic standing and in-school leadership.
"He's well-liked by our students and our staff," Eubanks said.
Lofton also is an integral part of Northwest's team — a "talented and gifted young man," he said.
On Thursday, Lofton was playing defensive back when Burke ran the ball up the middle. After the play, Lofton lay motionless on the field before he was helped to the sidelines.
School officials will review what happened — including tapes of the game — to determine when Lofton was injured. Eubanks said Lofton wasn't directly involved in the play.
"That's the most perplexing part about the whole situation," he said. "Perhaps the injury was sustained earlier."
Prior to collapsing, Lofton had not told anyone that he was injured, Eubanks said.
He was "kind of woozy on his feet" when the team's trainer met him on the field and helped him walk to the sidelines, Eubanks said. The trainer determined within a few minutes that an ambulance should be called, Eubanks said.
Northwest has two certified athletic trainers, one full time and one part time. Both were at the game, Eubanks said.
An ambulance was on standby at the field at the beginning of the game, but left to respond to an emergency call, he said. An ambulance returned at 9 p.m. — exactly three minutes after being called to help Lofton, according to 911 records. At 9:09 p.m., Lofton was en route to Creighton.
The game continued, with Burke winning 34-14.
Lofton-Duncan was told that a bystander at the game — a nurse from Methodist Hospital — gave Lofton CPR before the ambulance arrived. On Friday, Lofton-Duncan called that bystander an "angel."
"I believe that she helped save my son's life," she said.
Lofton was checked for a concussion earlier this year after the football team's first game, his mother said. He was given a CAT scan and an X-ray, but the tests showed everything was OK, Lofton-Duncan said.
Doctors told Lofton-Duncan that Lofton's head injury occurred while he was playing in Thursday's game, she said.
Northwest students are making cards for Lofton, and Northwest administrators have received phone calls of support from other schools.
All of Lofton-Duncan's sons have been touched by tragedy.
In 1998, Lofton-Duncan's 7-year-old son, Kevin L. Lofton, drowned while swimming at the Downtown YMCA.
Eric's older brother, Aaron, 18, was killed in February. Aaron Lofton was shot as he and his mother walked home from a convenience store near 40th and Hamilton Streets.
Daunte Goynes, 18, of Omaha, is being held without bail at the Douglas County Correctional Center after being charged with second-degree murder and use of a weapon to commit a felony in Aaron Lofton's death.
Lofton-Duncan has one daughter, Raven, who turned 14 on Wednesday.
"I think the family has gone through a lot," Eubanks said. "I know that the entire family has dealt with that the best they could.
"We are certainly thinking of Eric and praying for him and his family."
World-Herald staff writer Dalton Walker contributed to this report.
