SFU quarterback pulled from pool dies
Heart condition detected during final hours in hospital
Last Updated: Wednesday, November 11, 2009 | 7:05 PM PT
CBC News
Bernd Dittrich, 21, died on Wednesday after being pulled unconscious from a pool at SFU Tuesday. (canadawest.org)A Simon Fraser University football quarterback has died after he was found unconscious in the school's pool.
Bernd Dittrich, 21, died on Wednesday morning in hospital after being pulled from the university pool, located on the Burnaby Mountain campus east of Vancouver, by lifeguards at around 5:45 p.m. PT Tuesday.
There was at least one lifeguard on duty at the time, according to RCMP Cpl. Brenda Gresiuk.
Police said it is not yet clear what happened to Dittrich in the pool, but they don't suspect foul play.
"We are not treating it as suspicious. We are not doing any kind of further investigation, other than assisting friends and family through victim services," Gresiuk said.
While cause of death has yet to be officially determined, SFU's head football coach, Dave Johnson, said he had learned at the hospital in New Westminster that Dittrich had a previously undetected heart condition.
Johnson added that Dittrich was using swimming as a means of rehabilitating an injured shoulder that had kept him out of the last two games.
School officials said Dittrich, who was originally from Austria, was a third-year student working toward a Bachelor of Science degree.
As the starting quarterback in 2008, Dittrich led the SFU team to its best record since 2003.
A passion for American football
"He was a special young man," Johnson said. "He is a kid who was a great example to our young guys and a leader for our older guys. We have 94 guys in the locker room and Bernie was one of the leaders of that group."
A native of Vienna, Dittrich moved to Oklahoma at age 17 and played both quarterback and linebacker for the Heavener Wolves.
While growing up in Vienna, Dittrich developed a passion for American football and played for the Vienna Vikings club team, where he was coached for five years by current Simon Fraser offensive co-ordinator Shawn Olson.
Olson recruited Dittrich to play for the Clan and he joined the team in August of 2007 with Vienna Viking teammate Daniel Stanzel.
With files from The Canadian Press
