13-year-old dies after choking on his lunch at Virginia school cafeteria, parents say

A 13-year-old known for helping others died after choking on his lunch at a Virginia middle school, his parents said.

Josué Nolasco was rushed to a Richmond hospital after he suffered the medical emergency on Wednesday, Feb. 15. He died over the weekend, WWBT reported.

“He was too good for this world,” Lee Harvey, the boy’s father, told WRIC. “He was always kind. He was always polite.”

Chesterfield County Public Schools didn’t immediately respond to McClatchy News’ requests for information on Feb. 23. In a message, Providence Middle School reportedly told families about the boy’s death.

“I am sad to share that we have learned that a 7th grade student, Josue Chavez Nolasco, has passed away,” officials wrote, according to WWBT. “His parents shared this with us today and asked that I share this with you. We will keep the family in our thoughts during this difficult time.”

Josué’s dad told news outlets he raced away from work last week after he found out his son had choked on a meatball in the school’s cafeteria.

“They had told us that his brain spent 20 minutes without oxygen,” the teen’s mom, Karina Nolasco, told McClatchy News via Facebook messenger in Spanish, adding that she later learned the period without oxygen had lasted 40 minutes.

Now, Josué’s family members tell news outlets they hope to receive answers about how this happened.

“We want people to know this story, principally because this pain that we feel, we don’t want anyone else to go through this,” Harvey told WTVR. “We need people who are capable at school to be able to have some type of training and know what to do in these kinds of emergencies.”

After Josué’s death, Chesterfield County Public Schools said it shared grief-related resources with families, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported.

“It hurts me that my daughter is crying at night saying that she misses her brother,” Karina Nolasco said.

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