HALSTEAD ? A Halstead Middle School student died from injuries suffered Thursday when he tripped and fell into a pole while playing football outside after classes dismissed for the day.

The boy was a fifth-grader. His name was not released.

He was being transported to a hospital in Wichita, about 20 miles away, when the ambulance tire blew on Kansas Highway 96, Sedgwick County dispatchers said. Another ambulance was sent from Wichita to transport the child the rest of the way to Via Christi Regional Medical Center-St. Francis.

“We are clearly aware that it was an accident,” said Tom Bishard, Halstead’s superintendent, “and we’re extremely concerned, and our prayers are with the student and the family.”

Halstead City Administrator J.R. Hatfield said the case is under investigation and he couldn’t comment. The city’s ambulance was the one transporting the child when the tire blew.