MONTPELIER, Vt. — A state trooper who died of heatstroke during a tryout for the state police tactical team had told trainers concerned about him that he was fine but tired, according to a report released Tuesday.

The report by the Department of Public Safety details what happened to Kyle Young, 28, of Monkton, who collapsed Sept. 17 at the Vermont National Guard’s Ethan Allen Firing Range in Jericho. Here’s the account it gave:

Young was ahead of the pace of the previous four candidates in the timed physical fitness test before he collapsed while climbing a sand hill in 82-degree weather. When Young struggled for a minute, Trooper Matthew Johnson, a member of the tactical team and physical fitness coordinator for the state police, asked him if he was OK. He replied he was fine but tired and said no when asked he wanted to quit.

When Johnson noticed Young’s eyes looked droopy and half-closed, he asked Young to recite his name and count backward, which he did. Johnson then instructed Young to stop and requested water or Powerade. Other troopers ran up the hill with a sugar gel pack to treat low blood sugar and replenish electrolytes, but when they squirted it into Young’s mouth, he appeared to be not breathing.

Young’s ballistic vest was removed. Johnson ran down the hill and called 911 by cellphone, and another trooper requested a rescue using a police radio.

Young was taken to the University of Vermont Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.


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