A brutal test of manhood between friends turned tragic early this morning when a blow to the chest killed Jacob Salas, 16, at his home in San Jose.

Salas and Richard Jimenez, 19, were playing what youths and police say is a popular game among some teens called ``open chest,'' in which friends take turns exchanging blows to each other's chest to test who is toughest.

``It's viewed as a test of manhood,'' said San Jose Police Sgt. Steve Dixon. ``It's assumed that nobody will get hurt.''

A single punch felled Salas, who instantly lost consciousness. Shocked, Jimenez and friends tried to revive him, without success.

``He stopped breathing and his pulse stopped,'' said Salas's 14-year-old sister Anita. ``Then his pulse came back a couple seconds, then went away. Then he turned blue. We were yelling at him, `Jacob! We love you! We love you, don't do this!'T''

Jimenez, of San Jose, became frightened and fled the scene before paramedics arrived. He sought refuge at the family home of his girlfriend, Alma Barragan, 16, of East San Jose.

``I woke up and heard him wailing in our bathroom, just crying and crying. He was hyperventilating and couldn't talk, couldn't tell me what was the matter. I prayed with him and he calmed down,'' said Eliza Barragan, Alma's mother. ``He was so scared.''

Police found Jimenez at 5:30 a.m. today, hiding in a closet. He was booked into Santa Clara County Jail for investigation of involuntary manslaughter and is being held in lieu of $200,000 bail. He is expected to be arraigned Wednesday afternoon.

Sudden death from a blunt blow to the chest is rare, but not unheard of, according to research by pediatric cardiologist Steven M. Yabek of Pediatric Cardiology Associates of New Mexico. Although no cause of death has yet been declared for Salas, similar symptoms are linked to a condition called ``commotio cordis.'' It most commonly involves impact to the chest wall from a baseball, hockey puck, softball, lacrosse ball or karate chop, according to Yabek.

Although the injury is not well understood, it is thought that a strong impact to the chest causes the heart to lose rhythm.

Salas, the family's eldest child, had just completed summer school at Andrew Hill High School and had plans for a career as a rap musician, said his father, also named Jacob. ``He had CDs of all kinds with a lot of beat,'' said the father, who also is a musician.

The teenager's mother, Rebecca Salas, said her son had been placed on probation for fighting in school last year, spent some time in juvenile hall and was taking court-ordered classes on anger management. She said he spent time with older men whom she called ``a bad influence'' on her son; sometimes, she said, they supplied him with cigarettes.

But things were looking up, Rebecca Salas said. ``He had goals. He wanted to change. He was ready to change.''

His friend's life also seemed to be taking a turn for the better, said Barragan of Jimenez.

``I can't say a single bad thing about Richard. He helps us vacuum, wash dishes, clean the rooms. I'm like a second mother to him because he has nobody,'' said Barragan. She said Jimenez's father is in prison and his mother has not been located since the incident.

Jimenez suffered a severe head injury at age two, she said, and has some mental disability. She said he did not graduate from high school and works intermittently at a Cupertino moving company.

Jail spokesman Mark Cursi said Jimenez was interviewed by medical personnel at the jail and they decided to place him in the mental health unit with orders for someone to check on him every 15 minutes.

It was not an angry fight that killed her brother, said Anita Salas.

Around midnight, the two young men were home alone with a handful of friends at Salas's tidy Senter Road home. They were drinking beer. Jacob's father, who works two jobs to support the family, was playing bass guitar with his band Grupo Fuerza Unida at a nearby nightclub. Rebecca Salas, divorced from Jacob's father, lives and works in Merced County.

``They (Jacob and Richard) said, `Want to go out and do `body shots?''' recalled his sister. The game ``body shots,'' like ``open chest,'' involves youths take turns punching each other.

Physically, the two friends were a good match. Salas, who stood 5 feet 3 inches tall and weighed 150 pounds, was strong and healthy, said his sister. Jimenez, she said, is about the same size.

Out in the front yard, Salas and Jimenez exchanged at least one blow each. He told Barragan that Salas collapsed after being struck in the chest the second time.

``He was saying, `I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Jacob, don't do this,''' said Anita Salas of the scene she witnessed. ``They were friends.''

Salas's girlfriend, 17-year-old Angelina Alcala, knows cardiopulmonary resuscitation and tried to revive him. Anita Salas called 911, then her father.

``They put him on a stretcher. But I knew it was bad because they didn't put the siren on,'' said Anita Salas.

By the time the victim's father arrived home, his son already had been taken to Santa Teresa Kaiser Hospital, where he was declared dead.

Salas's teenage friends aren't mad at Jimenez.

``It was a `homie' game,'' said Bernadette Alcala, 14, of San Jose. ```We were friends. We all kicked back together. We miss them. There's nothing worse than losing a homie.''

But they want him to apologize to Salas's parents.

``He needs to say he's sorry,'' said Alcala.

Said a grieving Anita Salas: ``People should think before they act. Be careful. Think about it.''

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