‘He’s loving this’: Worcester community remembers teen who died after eating spicy chip

WORCESTER, Mass. — A year after a Worcester High School student died after trying the “One Chip Challenge,” his family held a basketball training day in his memory.

“Harris loved basketball, he loved the game,” said Lois Wolobah, Harris’ mom.

Dozens of kids from 6th grade through high school hit the basketball court at Kneller Athletic Center at Clark University in Worcester Saturday for “Hoops for Harris.” The event was in memory of Harris Wolobah, a 14-year-old sophomore who went to Doherty Memorial High School.

“I coached him, I was able to spend some time with him,” said Douglas Hill, basketball coach, ”Today’s conversation is about being a leader, not following trends, the dangers of social media what you should be looking at what you shouldn’t be looking at and a focus of how basketball can be an escape for a lot of these kids.”

On September 1st of 2023, Harris died after trying “The Paqui “One Chip Challenge,” which involves eating an extremely spicy chip made from the hottest peppers in the world. His cause of death was listed as cardiopulmonary arrest and noted that he had an enlarged heart from a congenital heart defect.

“We wanted to do something in memory of Harris,” said Joseph Petty, Worcester Mayor, “It’s nice they’re having practice drills for the kids to come out learn how to play basketball, have some fun.”

Now, his family said they’re working to keep his memory alive.

I’m sure Harris is here right now in spirit and he’s loving this,” said Lois.

“We miss him and, we cherished him while he was with us and this event is to celebrate his memory,” said Amos Wolobah Sr., Harris’ dad.

The family has an active wrongful death lawsuit against the manufacturer of the chip challenge.

Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts.

Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW

©2024 Cox Media Group