A 10-year-old boy who was in Buffalo last week for a youth hockey tournament has died after contracting the flu, followed by pneumonia and sepsis.
Nico Mallozzi, of New Caanan, Connecticut, was a player on the Connecticut Roughriders Hockey Club. Mallozzi started feeling ill Thursday and eventually went to Oishei Children's Hospital, where he was diagnosed with the flu. He left the tournament early and died Sunday morning in a Connecticut hospital.
The town's medical director said Mallozzi's illness “progressed rapidly,” and the infection "overwhelmed the immune system." He says the sickness has nothing to do with the boy's trip to Buffalo.
Mallozzi's hockey team has issued a statement, reading, in part, "It is a very sad day for all of us. Nico was a great kid with a great smile and he will be missed greatly. We will never forget you, Nico."
A GoFundMe page has been set up in support of the Mallozzi family.
