Photo: Family of Drake Geiger
(Omaha, NE) -- The family of an Omaha South High School student who died during football practice is set to receive a settlement from Omaha Public Schools.
On August 10, 2021, 16 year old Drake Geiger collapsed shortly after practice began. The heat index in the Omaha metro that afternoon topped 100 degrees. At the time, Gieger's sister Brittany Hoffman said he was taken to Nebraska Medicine, "with CPR being performed." Hoffman says doctors and nurses worked to revive Geiger but that, "with great sadness they were not able to save him." Geiger's cause of death was attributed to hypothermia, which can happen in hot weather due to the body absorbing or generating more heat than it can release.
About a year after Geiger's death, his father Scott Hoffman filed a wrongful death suit against OPS. Geiger's family will receive a $675,000 settlement, in which the district claims no responsibility in the teen's death. The settlement is a compromise between OPS and Geiger's family. The bulk of the settlement will be paid out by the district's insurance provider. The OPS board will vote to approve the settlement at its meeting on Wednesday.