A West Virginia town is mourning the death of a 13-year-old boy who died from an injury sustained during football practice.
Cohen Craddock, 13, was in the 8th grade at Madison Middle School when he was killed playing football.
The young teenager received a head injury during football practice, causing his brain to swell and bleed.
The boy’s father, Ryan Craddock, told CNN:
“It was my understanding he was playing defense in practice, and the boys collided.
“Cohen fell to the ground and hit his head, and that’s what caused his brain to start swelling and bleed.”
The Boone County Ambulance Authority said Cohen was rushed to the hospital and died a day later.
The boy had lost oxygen, resulting in brain death, according to his father.
“On the ride to the hospital, he aspirated, then he had some low oxygen levels, which led to brain death, and where his brain was dying, it just basically caused his body to be unable to regulate itself and caused him to perish,” his father said.
Cohen Craddock was a kind boy who was well-liked by his classmates, his family said.
The family decided to donate his organs in a “final act of generosity.”
In a post on Facebook, his heartbroken mother, Arsella Slagel Tellier, wrote:
“Caden is still fighting hard in his earthly body as he prepares for this final act of generosity to bring new life to others.
“We continue to pray for those whose lives will be forever changed by his gifts.”
In the wake of this tragedy, Ryan Craddock is calling on more schools to use helmet coverings to prevent the kind of injuries that killed his son.
“I believe if my son would have been wearing something like this, this would have made a totally different outcome,” Craddock said.
“You’re not modifying the helmets.
“It’s just something that attaches directly on.
“So why not just have that extra layer of protection?”
The superintendent of Boone County schools, Matthew Riggs, issued a statement on the tragedy.
The statement said:
“The entire Boone County Schools’ community is beginning to mourn the loss of Cohen Craddock, an 8th-grade student at Madison Middle School.
“As a Redhawk, Cohen was loved by his classmates, his teachers, his administrators, and the entire Madison Middle School staff.”
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