A 17-year-old boy died unexpectedly after he collapsed as he was singing a solo at a choir event last week in Naperville, Illinois, his family and officials said.
Daniel Moshi, a senior at Leyden High School, was performing Friday at the All State Honors Show Choir for the Illinois American Choral Directors Association at Naperville North High School when he collapsed, NBC Chicago reported.
“They told us that while he was doing his solo, he just passed out,” his mother, Karolin Moshi, told the station. “He collapsed, and we don’t know anything else.”
Moshi’s mother said he had seemed fine when she dropped him off from school earlier that day. He had even checked in when he arrived at Naperville North High School for the choir show, she told NBC Chicago.
“He texted me, ‘Mom, I’m here’ at around 5 o’clock approximately,” she said. “I texted him, ‘I said everything good?’ I have his text. He said, ‘Yep, all good mom,'" she told the station.
Then, less than two hours later, the family got a devastating call.
“I got the call from his teacher, musical teacher. And she said there’s an incident,” his father, Loden Moshi, told NBC Chicago.
Naperville fire crews were sent to the high school at around 6:18 p.m. for reports of an "unconscious" 17-year-old boy, fire officials told NBC Chicago. He was taken to Edwards Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead, they said. The Naperville Fire Department did not immediately respond to an overnight request for comment.
The cause of death was not immediately clear. The DuPage County coroner's office said early Wednesday it had no updates on an investigation into the cause of death.
A spokesperson for Leyden High School told NBC Chicago that the school's community was grieving Moshi's death.
“This loss impacts our entire Leyden community,” the spokesperson said in a statement. “Our students and staff are grieving and our focus is on their well being. We encourage anyone who is struggling to reach out to a trusted adult and our Student Services department is available to provide support. We are also asking everyone to look after each other during this difficult time.”
Leyden High School did not immediately respond to a request for comment from NBC News.
Moshi's family said he had planned to attend college next year and dreamed of performing on Broadway.
“I don’t know how to explain it,” his mother said, remembering her son as an “honest, so pure” and “lovable" teenager. “It’s not easy. It’s not easy for any parent to go through this, because we still don’t have answers.”
