New Zealand teenager dies after tackle game linked to viral Run It Straight challenge

A New Zealand teenager has died after playing a tackling game, believed to have been inspired by a controversial new high impact collision sport trending on social media. Police confirmed the 19-year-old died in hospital on Monday night after he suffered a critical head injury while playing a tackle game with friends in the North Island city Palmerston North on Sunday. “The tackle game … was based on a social media-driven trend, where participants compete in full-contact collisions without protective gear,” he said. Media reports inside New Zealand linked the game to the Run It Straight challenge. Patria Hume, a Human Performance professor at AUT warned the public about the risk of injury and death from playing the sport.