McCandless teenager dies

A North Allegheny High School senior remembered as a standout athlete and a witty friend died Tuesday at his home, 10 days after suffering a concussion during a rugby match.

Eric Pelly, 18, described by his father as a "sportsaholic" who played football, hockey, baseball, basketball and, during the past year, rugby with the Pittsburgh Harlequins, fell unconscious during dinner at his McCandless home Tuesday evening.

His father and neighbor performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation while an ambulance was called, relatives said. Pelly was pronounced dead at UPMC Passavant at 7 p.m.

The Allegheny County Medical Examiner's Office said the cause of death would not be known for several weeks.

Rugby is similar to football but with more physical contact. It is traditionally played without helmets or extensive padding.

Pelly was hospitalized at Allegheny General for three days after taking another player's knee to his left temple during a Sept. 30 match between the amateur Harlequins and NOVA, the Northern Virginia Rugby Club. Pelly's mother, Joan, said her son was conscious after the impact, but passed out while sitting on the bench.

Allegheny General released him Oct. 2, and he returned to school two days later, his family said.

On Tuesday he attended classes, then worked for a few hours detailing cars at the family's auto spa, said his father, Mark Pelly. Over dinner, Eric remarked to his parents and sister Jenna, 11, that he felt "100 percent, back to normal," his father said. A few minutes later, he collapsed at the table and never regained consciousness.

A spokesman for Allegheny General said the hospital could not comment because of patient privacy laws. No phone listing could be found for the Harlequins, and e-mail messages seeking comment were not immediately returned.

Ed Gafney, of Arlington, Va., who played for NOVA at Founders Field in Indianola Sept. 30, remembered the play.

"He came in to make a tackle, then stayed down on the ground, and play was stopped," Gafney said. "I happened to be right there, and I helped him up. They took him off the field and got him some help."

"There was no malicious intent on anyone's part," Gafney said, adding that he knows the NOVA player who collided with Pelly and wasn't sure how to break the news of the student's death.

Joan Pelly said her son suffered a concussion while playing football two years ago, but was not hospitalized. He remained active in other sports and acted as an unofficial cheerleader for his buddies on the North Allegheny football team, painting his face and body black and gold, and whooping it up from the front row of the bleachers at Tigers' games.

"He was always trying to break everybody up," said Johnny Casile, a Fox Chapel student who became close friends with Pelly after meeting him three years ago at a hockey rink.

North Allegheny Inline Hockey Club coach Jim Lorish said Pelly was fun-loving and one of the fastest skaters in the interscholastic league, helping his team win the state championships the past two seasons.

"In the locker room, Eric was just a big joker, always smiling, laughing," Lorish said. "But on the rink he was very intense. He treated it like a business."

Joan Pelly said her son was passionate about organ donation, and he was a donor. She fielded phone calls late Tuesday from the Center for Organ Recovery & Donation.

Eric Pelly is also survived by a brother, Reed, 21, a student at Kettering University in Michigan. Funeral arrangements are pending.