By Brian Zanzonico
The school is accepting donations for the Elmont Memorial High School Friends of Petro Fund. Donations can be sent to Elmont Memorial High School, 555 Ridge Rd., Elmont 11003.
Petrocelli, 38, the coach of the Lady Spartans for the last nine years and a guidance counselor at Elmont Memorial High School for more than a decade, collapsed and died during Elmont's Class AA semifinal game against Hicksville at Bellmore-JFK High School Feb. 27. With under two minutes to go in the first half and Elmont up 24-21, witnesses said that Petrocelli was sitting on the bench when he slumped onto assistant coach Tom Magno. Petrocelli was taken to Nassau University Medical Center in nearby East Meadow.
According to the Nassau County Medical Examiner's office, Petrocelli's death was caused by a rupture of the splenic artery, which supplies blood to the spleen. A married father of two young daughters, Petrocelli had battled adrenal cancer when he was younger, and the radiation treatment he received may have attributed to the burst artery, said Dr. Devendra Brahmbhatt of the Franklin Hospital Medical Center. Brahmbhatt said that adrenal cancer is "extremely rare," and that pregnant women are four times more likely to suffer a ruptured splenic artery than men.
Petrocelli is survived by his wife, Denise; his daughters, Amy Rose, 7, and Nicole Grace, 4; his father, Ernest; and two brothers, Chris and Ray.
Comments about this story? FSeditor@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 240.
