UPDATE: Carbondale 2024 grad dies during Senior Week at Ocean CIty, Maryland

Geri Gibbons, The Times-Tribune, Scranton, Pa.
·1 min read

CARBONDALE — A 2024 Carbondale Area School District graduate died Tuesday while vacationing with friends in Ocean City, Maryland, during Senior Week, police said in a statement.

At about 6:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Ocean City police officers responded to a rental house near the intersection of 6th Street and Philadelphia Avenue, where they found Emily Tropeano, 18, in a bedroom, unresponsive and not breathing.

Officers began emergency medical care and performed life-saving measures until Ocean City Emergency Medical personnel arrived and took over resuscitation efforts, police said.

Tropeano's friends told police that they found her with agonal breathing, a sign of cardiac distress which indicates someone is near death, according to the statement.

Emergency medical personnel were able to regain a pulse and transported her to Tidal Health, where she died later in the day, police said.

The death is under investigation pending autopsy, police said. Detectives do not suspect foul play or suspicious circumstances surrounding the death.

Police said the vacation house was just several blocks from the bay, beach and boardwalk.

Tropeano graduated from Carbondale Area High School with honors on June 7. She was involved in numerous school activities and was a member of the cheerleading squad. She did a senior internship with Carbondale city.

The school provided grief counseling for students Wednesday and Thursday. The district encouraged parents to talk with their children about the death and be alert for any signs a student needs assistance in processing it. Additionally, parents are encouraged to contact Principal Joe Farrell at joseph.farrell@carbondalearea.org or 570-282-4500 if a child is experiencing signs of unusual stress.