Sudden death in police pursuit.

A rare complication of sickle cell trait is sudden death and collapse. Military recruits, pilots, and subjects exposed to hypoxic stress such as high altitude and experiencing sudden cardiorespiratory collapse as a result of sickle cell trait have been well described. This is a case of a 13-year-old black male who collapsed after a police pursuit and was found to have sickle cell trait and microscopic evidence of asthma.