Patriots Country

Patriots-Dolphins Drama: One Fan Dies; Another Saved

Tragedy struck at the New England Patriots vs. Miami Dolphins game on Sunday.

Nathaniel Marrero

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One person died and another one was revived in separate incidents during the New England Patriots' 24-17 loss to the Miami Dolphins at Gillette Stadium on Sunday Night. 

The deceased, a man identified by the Norfolk District Attorney's Office as as 53-year-old Dale Mooney, suffered an "apparent medical episode" in section 308-309 at around 11 p.m., according to Boston 25 News. Mooney was rushed to Sturdy Memorial Hospital in Attleboro and was pronounced dead.

An investigation is underway by the Norfolk District Attorney. The DA is still piecing together the events that led up to Mooney's death, and is working with the Foxboro police. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner likely won't perform an autopsy on Mooney, per the Norfolk DA. 

Patriots - Gillette 2023

Around the same time, another fan went into cardiac arrest. Two off-duty firemen, Mark McCullough and Anthony Colella, administered CPR and revived the victim, according to several eyewitnesses. Colella is a firefighter at the Johnston Fire Department in Rhode Island, while McCullough is a firefighter in Needham, Massachusetts.

Colella gave an exclusive interview to NBC 10 News and described the event. He said he looked over his shoulder and saw a man lying on the ground. After he and McCullough couldn't find a pulse, they administered CPR, and he regained his pulse after a few minutes. Paramedics arrived in 10 minutes. 

"As a firefighter, this is something that's in my head constantly, Colella said. "You just don't know what could happen. You don't know what could be thrown at you, and that's what we're trained to do. We're trained to jump in, whether it's at work or not."

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Nathaniel Marrero
NATHANIEL MARRERO

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