Corbett signs bill to protect student athletes

Had he lived, Simon Sudman would have been a first grader this year.

But his death at 3 months from an undetected heart defect in 2005 spurred his parents, Darren and Phyllis, to press for state laws that would help prevent sadness like theirs from darkening the lives of other families.

On Wednesday, the Plymouth Meeting couple’s efforts bore fruit: Gov. Corbett signed into law House Bill 1610, making Pennsylvania the first state to set standards for preventing sudden cardiac arrest and death in student athletes and children.