15-year-old boy dies after choking at high school in Villa Park

A 15-year-old boy died after choking in the lunch room last week at Willowbrook High School in west suburban Villa Park.

At 12:16 p.m. Sept. 19, authorities responded to a call of a student who was choking in the lunch room at 1250 Ardmore Ave. in Villa Park, according to statement from the DuPage County coroner’s office.

Abdul Jalal, of Lombard, was unresponsive and taken to Elmhurst Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 1:09 p.m., according to the statement.

An autopsy Tuesday indicated that Jalal may have choked on a piece of food, but the cause and manner of his death are still pending, according to the coroner’s office.

Jalal had Down syndrome but it did not appear to have any bearing on his death, according to the statement.