Runner dies after collapsing at Brooklyn Half Marathon

New York officials said a man who crossed the finish line of the Brooklyn Half Marathon collapsed and died Saturday morning. Fire Department spokesman Frank Dwyer said the runner was taken to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Police identified the runner as 32-year-old David Richman of Brooklyn, CBS New York Reports.

It was not clear what caused the runner’s collapse, though a statement from the nonprofit New York Road Runners said it happened after the man finished the race.

“Our thoughts and sympathies are with the runner’s family and those close to them,” spokeswoman Trina Sinjian said.

Sinjian said the medical staff was assigned from start to finish throughout the race track. The group also monitored weather conditions up to and during the race with city agency officials and weather experts. Sinjian said the temperature hovered between 60 and 70 high during the race, which started at 7 a.m.

A heat alert warning that high temperatures and high humidity can cause heat illness is in effect throughout New York City until 8 p.m. Saturday. Temperatures exceeded 80 degrees Fahrenheit (26.7 degrees Celsius) as of midday in Brooklyn.

More than 22,000 runners were expected to run from Prospect Park to the Coney Island pass in Saturday’s Half Marathon, which returned to full capacity for the first time in three years.

According to the New York Fire Department, 16 people were hospitalized during the event on Saturday morning. Five of them are in serious condition, eight with non-life-threatening injuries, and four with minor injuries.