Suspect meningitis in death of Bayside student

BY VICTOR G. MIMONI

Wednesday, January 14, 2009 7:05 PM EST

A Stuyvesant High School senior from Bayside who was found dead in her home recently may have succumbed to bacterial meningitis, according to a letter posted on the web by her principal.

On Thursday, January 8, the body of Ava Hecht, 17, was found face down in her bedroom. Her mother, Karen Gang, reportedly made the shocking discovery at about 3:30 p.m. and called 9-1-1.

Hecht was taken by ambulance to Flushing Hospital, where she was pronounced dead, according to reports. Police said that Gang told them her daughter had been treated for laryngitis recently.

Notice of Hecht’s passing was posted on Stuyvesant’s web site the next day and shocked her teachers and classmates. The school’s New Year’s Dance, scheduled for Friday evening was cancelled.

A plea for parents not to speculate as to the cause of the popular student’s death was also posted on the school’s internet communication system by principal Stanley Teitel.

“All we know is that she was sick over the weekend,” Department of Education spokesperson Marge Feinberg reportedly said.

A spokesperson with the city’s Health Department reportedly confirmed the agency was investigating a possible case of the infection in “a city student,” but would not elaborate.

Hecht’s funeral was held on Sunday, January 11, at Sinai Chapel, 162-05 Horace Harding Expressway in Flushing.