Officials Await Toxicology Report on Wofford Athlete

UPDATE:

Wofford College released the following arrangements for Randall Heffron Jr., who died unexpectedly over the weekend: 

Visitation 
6:00-8:00 pm Friday, September 16, 2011
St. Matthews Lutheran Church
405 King Street
Charleston, South Carolina 29401

Funeral Service2:00 pm Saturday, September 17, 2011
St. Matthews Lutheran Church
405 King Street
Charleston, South Carolina 29401

Directions to the Church can be found at http://www.smlccharleston.org/content.cfm?id=266

Mrs. Heffron has asked that in lieu of flowers donations be made to the Randall Heffron Endowed Scholarship Fund at Wofford College.

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The Wofford College student body is still mourning the loss of 20-year-old Randall Heffron Jr., along with his friends and family after he died unexpectedly Friday from choking. 

Heffron, a tennis player at Wofford College who made a name for himself at Bishop England in lower state South Carolina, was eating when he made his way to the dormitory's bathroom in distress. When friends followed him to the bathroom, it became clear he needed medical attention. 

He was taken to Spartanburg Regional Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at 1:11 a.m. Saturday. Coroner Rusty Clevenger confirmed his office was investigating the death, and acknowledged that while Heffron choked, it was unclear whether or not there were other contributing factors. 

Some information received by the coroner's office indicated Heffron and his friends may had been drinking, but whether or not that is true - and most importantly, if it contributed at all to the incident - is not known. 

"We do not have a quantitative amount of alcohol at this point," Clevenger said. "We have been told that there had been some drinking, but we can't confirm that right now."

A toxicology report, which is standard in such cases, has yet to be performed, Clevenger said. 

"We don't have a report yet. We don't report anything until blood analysis comes back from the lab," he said. 

It could take between three to six weeks to get toxicological analysis back from a lab, the coroner said, depending on whether they send the specimens to a private lab or the state lab for testing, which operates on a significant backlog of cases. 

Laura Corbin, spokesperson for Wofford College, said that emergency room doctors informed campus officials and Heffron's family that he died from an obstructed airway due to a piece of food that was deeply lodged in his throat. Efforts on campus and at the hospital to dislodge the food were unsuccessful. 

Corbin emphasized that there had been no indication made that any alcohol consumption, even if it did occur prior to the incident, was causal in any way to Heffron's death.  

"While Randall may have consumed alcohol, though I do not have confirmation of that, there is no indication from doctors that it was a factor in his death," Corbin said. "The Spartanburg County Coroner’s Office has not issued a cause of death, pending results of standard toxicology tests and an autopsy." 

Meanwhile, Wofford is trying to cope with the loss. 

“The Wofford campus family is saddened by this tragic and untimely death,” said Benjamin Dunlap, president of the college in a prepared statement. “Randall was well-loved and respected by his fellow tennis players, his friends and classmates. He will be greatly missed. Our deepest sympathies are with his family, especially his brother, Walker, a freshman here at Wofford.”

“The entire Wofford College family is saddened by the loss of Randall,” said Athletics Director Richard Johnson. “Our thoughts, prayers and concerns are with his mother, brother, family, and the Wofford men's tennis team led by Coach Rod Ray.”

As a freshman, Heffron played in two doubles matches for the Terriers and posted a 1-1 record. He played under Coach Skip Reville at Bishop England High School, where he led the team to four consecutive region championship titles, from 2007-2010 and two second place finishes in the South Carolina state championships. Heffron started at the No. 1 spot in singles and doubles for his sophomore, junior and senior years. He was selected to the All-Low Country team all four years with the varsity program and honored as an All-State pick for three years.