A 17-year-old high school junior in Georgia died after suddenly collapsing earlier this week.
His school, located in Eastman, identified the boy as Hadden Kelly.
“There are no words to express the sadness that our DCHS family feels for the loss of junior Hadden Kelly,” a spokesperson for Dodge County High School wrote in a statement. “Please join us in prayer for his family, friends, and our DCHS Family. ‘Gone from our sight, but never from our hearts.’ ”
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Dodge County Coroner Joe Smith told local news station WGXA that Kelly was his great-nephew and that the boy had been participating in “homecoming activities” when he fell to the ground in the yard of a home on Monday, Sept. 15. He was later pronounced dead at the scene.
Smith told NBC affiliate WMGT the teens had been “TPing” a home with a friend.
Reached over the phone, the deputy coroner described Kelly as fun-loving and confirmed the boy’s autopsy is set to be conducted in Atlanta to determine his cause of death.
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Kelly’s high school golf coach remembered him in a social media statement, noting how he led with encouragement for his team.
“He was our top performing golfer and always finished earlier than most of his teammates. He ALWAYS stayed till each team member finished,” the coach wrote. “He could have left as most of the time he finished first against the competition. It wasn’t about him. He stayed to support his team. He wanted the team to succeed!”
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“Hadden was an outgoing kid, and he never met a stranger,” Smith told WGXA. The outlet also reported Kelly held a job at the Dodge County Golf Club.
“He played every day, and I believe if that were something he wanted to do, he would have gone pro because he was that good,” Smith added.
