Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell for now won’t open a new investigation into an Arizona State University hockey practice that left a player hospitalized.
Matthew Mayich remains in a coma more than a month after the Aug. 20 practice. His family’s lawyer, Robert Carey, wrote to Mitchell on Sept. 23 to ask that her office open an investigation into the circumstances of Mayich’s collapse.
Carey said the 21-year-old suffered exertional heatstroke during the “punishing” outdoor workout and is unlikely to recover.
“The result here is about as severe as it gets short of death,” Carey wrote to Mitchell.
Carey said ASU hockey coaches “skipped every safeguard” required by the university’s own heat safety policies.
“It appears that ASU did not follow its own guidelines,” Carey wrote. “It appears that the conduct of those responsible may have been criminally reckless.”
An ASU police investigation is ongoing. And ASU released an initial report about the workout earlier this month.
In a response to Carey, Mitchell wrote, “it is not wise to be conducting a separate investigation simultaneously.”
Mitchell said ASU police have been communicating with her office and will submit their case to her office for review when their investigation is complete.
“We will review all materials related to the investigation and staff the case at the highest level,” Mitchell wrote. “While I cannot say that I will open an entirely new investigation, what I can tell you is that we will make sure that we are satisfied that all appropriate investigative steps have been taken, and all evidence gathered.”
KJZZ’s Wayne Schutsky contributed to this story.
Read the county attorney's letter
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