Officials: Cause of Wheeling student's death could take a month to determine
Cook County medical examiner's office officials said Tuesday it will be at least a month before they officially determine whether a 16-year-old Wheeling High School student died as a result of COVID-19 or something else.
Sophomore Zach Leviton died last week after he became ill and his condition rapidly deteriorated. His mother said doctors told the family Zach tested negative for the coronavirus, though he might have been experiencing its early stages.
While never identifying the specific student or school, Northwest Suburban High School District 214 officials over the weekend said one of their students had died, likely from complications of COVID-19.
"The cause and manner of death is pending further testing," Natalia Derevyanny, a spokeswoman for the medical examiner's office, said in a statement Tuesday. "Based on the type of testing that's being conducted it may be a month or more."
Private funeral services for the teen were held last week, while friends continue to remember him on social media. A Facebook fundraiser has garnered some $6,000 in donations to purchase two memorial benches - one at Zach's favorite basketball court or park, where his friends could gather, and one at his gravesite.
He is survived by family, including his mother and father, a brother and sister.