--- description: The community at California University of Pennsylvania morns the loss of a bright student and talented player title: Police: Basketball Player May Have Choked on Chewing Gum in Sleep image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [Newsfeed](/tag/time-section-newsfeed/) ## Newsfeed Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Police: College Basketball Player May Have Died From Choking on Chewing Gum in Her Sleep by [Melissa Locker](/author/melissa-locker/) ## Melissa Locker Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 20, 2015 11:14 PM CUT by [Melissa Locker](/author/melissa-locker/) ## Melissa Locker Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 20, 2015 11:14 PM CUT Shanice Clark, a 21-year-old student and basketball player at California University of Pennsylvania, was found dead in her off-campus apartment over the weekend, and California, PA, police say preliminary reports from medical personnel about what appears to be an accidental death indicate Clark may have aspirated chewing gum while sleeping, the Associated Press [reports](http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/B/BKW%5FPLAYER%5FDEATH?SITE=AP "undefined"). The exact cause of death will come from the autopsy, the results of which were not “immediately released.” Clark was found by her roommate after falling out of bed early Sunday morning, [according to WPXI](http://www.wpxi.com/news/news/local/cal-u-womens-basketball-player-dies/njq8c/ "undefined"). Clark was unresponsive and taken to a local hospital where she was pronounced dead an hour later. [Dr. Karen Hjerpe, ](http://www.calvulcans.com/news/2015/1/18/WBB%5F0118151305.aspx "undefined")the California University of Pennsylvania athletic director, said in a statement: “Our heartfelt sympathy goes out to the family and friends of Shanice Clark. Shanice was a bright student and talented player. Her smile and personality will be missed.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3675478/college-basketball-player-may-have-died-from-choking-on-chewing-gum/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3675478/college-basketball-player-may-have-died-from-choking-on-chewing-gum/"},"headline":"Police: College Basketball Player May Have Died From Choking on Chewing Gum in Her Sleep","datePublished":"2015-01-20T23:14:58.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:16:07.006Z","description":"The community at California University of Pennsylvania morns the loss of a bright student and talented player","url":"https://time.com/3675478/college-basketball-player-may-have-died-from-choking-on-chewing-gum/","keywords":["Newsfeed","society","Sports topic","U.S.","Living"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Melissa Locker","jobTitle":"","url":"https://time.com/author/melissa-locker/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3675478/college-basketball-player-may-have-died-from-choking-on-chewing-gum/","name":"Police: College Basketball Player May Have Died From Choking on Chewing Gum in Her Sleep"}}]}] ```