The issue of concussions has been a hot button topic in the NFL in recent years, but doctors say a collision that causes death is extremely rare.

Officials say Shoreham-Wading River junior Tom Cutinella was able to stand up after a collision with an opposing player during a football game Wednesday night. He soon after collapsed and was rushed to Huntington Hospital, where he later died.

Dr. Karl Friedman, who has been Nassau County's supervising physician for football for 30 years, says "the fact that he had an interval of lucidness after the hit and then deteriorated rapidly, means that there was a rapid inflow of blood that was compressing the brain."

He says there's only so much equipment can do in a physical sport like football.

All schools in New York are required to follow strict concussion mandates. Any player who suffers a head injury is not allowed to re-enter the game.

Officials will be looking into whether Cutinella had any previous medical conditions or head injuries.