Students Mourn Boy Who Died After Fall -- 11-Year-Old Slipped In Cafeteria, Struck Head On Lunch Table

Grief counselors were on hand at Dimmitt Middle School in Renton today to help students deal with the loss of an 11-year-old schoolmate.

School administrators, meanwhile, also were interviewing students who may have witnessed Thursday's accident in the school cafeteria.

Judah Benjamin Evans Smith died Saturday, two days after he slipped on spilled milk, and hit his head on a lunch table.

After the boy fell, he checked in at the school's health office, where a nurse's aide gave him ice for the injury and called his parents, Renton School District officials said.

When the boy's mother picked him up, the school nurse recommended the injury be examined by a doctor, district spokesman Peter Daniels said.

That night, he collapsed at home and was taken to Harborview Medical Center.

Hospital spokesman Larry Zalin said the boy was unconscious when he was brought to the hospital about 3 a.m. Friday.

Doctors performed two surgeries to treat a blood clot on his brain, but the boy died at 5:17 p.m. Saturday without regaining consciousness.

The boy's mother, Laura Evans, could not be reached for comment this morning.

School officials say it's unclear whether she plans to hold the district liable for her son's death.

Evans had scheduled a meeting with district officials once, but canceled the meeting.

"Right now we really don't know, I just think with all the emotions she's having to deal with, there's a lot going on," Daniels said. "Whatever information she needs, we'll try to provide."

The King County Medical Examiner's Office was expected to rule on a cause of death today.