Autopsy finds Chicago football player died of head injuries

CHICAGO (AP) - An autopsy has found blunt force head injuries from a football accident killed a Chicago high school football player.

The Cook County medical examiner said Saturday that 17-year-old Andre Smith's death was an accident. He played for Bogan High School, which was playing Chicago Vocational Career Academy on Thursday. Authorities say an ambulance took Smith in critical condition from the game to Oak Lawn's Christ Medical Center, where he died.

The Illinois High School Association, which oversees prep sports in the state, said Smith is the first high school football player to die in Illinois since 2012. That's when a player from Hall High School in Spring Valley died from complications related to an enlarged heart.

The association said "high school football programs all across the state are thinking of Andre and the Bengals community."