Beaumont High School Cheerleader Dies From Cardiac Arrest

BEAUMONT – A ninth-grader at Beaumont High School passed away Wednesday morningafter her heart failed amid a brief-illness.

Devon Christine Miller died at San Gorgonio Memorial Hospital in Banning. It’s still not clear exactly what type of illness she was suffering from at the time, and what may have caused her heart to stop.

Miller was active in student government, sports, and other activities at Beaumont High School and her previous school in Moreno Valley. At Beaumont High School she was a cheerleader.

Friends say she had been sick for days. She went to the high school basketball game on Tuesday night, but didn’t feel like cheering with the rest of the cheerleaders. A short time later she went to the hospital, where she died later that night.

Wednesday night, the community gathered to remember her. Her mother appeared, clutching a photo of her young daughter taken so quickly.

“It’s hard to believe,” said Elide Mojica, a friend of Devon’s. “She was younger than me, so it’s hard to imagine that.”

Grief counselors were sent to Beaumont High to meet with students and teachers impacted by the girl’s death.

“We’re taking this very hard,” said Principal Marilyn Saucedo. “It’s unnatural to them.”

Doctors will now try to determine what caused Devon’s death at such a young age.