'Pure' 17-year-old son and hopeful Broadway singer collapsed and died suddenly during choir event, 'shocked' family knows 'he's with Jesus'
NewsPaul Sacca
October 20, 2022
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A 17-year-old high school student and singer suddenly died as he was singing during a choir event last week, the boy's family said.
Daniel Moshi, a senior at Leyden High School, unexpectedly died on Oct. 14. The teen was reportedly singing a solo when he tragically passed away in Naperville, Illinois.
Moshi was performing in the All-State Honors Show Choir for the Illinois American Choral Directors Association at Naperville North High School when he became unconscious, according to WMAQ-TV.
"I got the call from his teacher, musical teacher. And she said there's an incident," said Daniel's father, Loden Moshi. "That he was singing his solo rehearsal and he collapsed. And now they've given him CPR and taken him to one hospital."
"They told us that while he was doing his solo, he just passed out," said his mother, Karolin Moshi. "He collapsed, and we don't know anything else."
The mother said she dropped off Daniel at school last Friday, but didn't notice anything peculiar with her son.
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"Actually, I stopped by Starbucks right over here, where he grabbed his macchiato drink and his sandwich," the mother explained. "I dropped him off. And he was waiting for his teacher to come, you know, come up and pick him up with his other students that were attending this choir show."
At around 5 p.m., Daniel texted his mom to let her know that he was at the choir event.
Karolin Moshi recalled, "I texted him, 'I said everything good?' I have his text. He said, 'Yep, all good mom.'"
Less than two hours later, the family received the heartbreaking news.
Around 6:18 p.m., Naperville fire officials said they responded to an emergency call regarding an "unconscious" 17-year-old teen. Bystanders performed CPR on Daniel before the emergency workers arrived at the high school.
Daniel was rushed to Edwards Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
The cause of death has yet to be determined.
The DuPage County coroner's office said it was investigating the death.
Karolin Moshi stated, "We came home Saturday morning, I received a call from the DuPage coroner's office, and she said, 'Miss Moshi, I'm reaching out to you to let you know that there was nothing wrong with your son. His organs were all healthy, his heart – absolutely nothing wrong with him.'"
A spokesperson for Leyden High School issued a statement on Daniel's death, "This loss impacts our entire Leyden community. Our students and staff are grieving and our focus is on their well-being. We encourage anyone who is struggling to reach out to a trusted adult and our Student Services department is available to provide support. We are also asking everyone to look after each other during this difficult time."
Moshi's family said he had planned to attend college next year and dreamed of performing on Broadway.
Loden Moshi told WLS-TV, "We are devastated, shocked. We lost a 17-year-old son."
Karolin Moshi described Daniel as an "honest, so pure" and "lovable" teenager.
"You can see my eyes. I've been crying. I can't sleep. I haven't slept since Friday," Karolin said. "But it's... I don't know how to explain it ... we believe what we believe in. The Lord is keeping us going. It's not easy. We were supposed to buy him a car. We're actually doing his funeral."
"I don’t know how to explain it," the mother said of losing her son. "It's not easy. It’s not easy for any parent to go through this, because we still don’t have answers."
"He's with Jesus. I know that," Karolin added. "He's singing. He loved to sing for the Lord."
Daniel's younger sister, Danya Moshi, said of her brother, "He was amazing. If people have siblings, you need to have fun with them. Because if one of them goes away, you feel alone."
The St. Andrew's Assyrian Church in Glenview – where Moshi served as the alto lead singer – paid tribute to the teen.
"It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of our dear son Daniel Moshi, Saint Andrews choir alto lead singer," the church wrote on Facebook. "For a community of believers to lose a faithful member is difficult and a test of faith; for believing parents to lose a faithful child is beyond comprehension and stretches our limited senses of understanding. Daniel may not be with us on earth anymore and no 'word' can totally ease the pain of the loss, but the loss of Daniel on earth is assured to us to be singing to the 'Word' in Paradise."
