High school football player, 16, collapses on the sidelines and dies after suffering brain injury during game
One high school football player in Georgia died after he suffered from a severe brain injury in the middle of a game. Local media outlets reported that Dylan Thomas, a student from Pike County High School, became injured during the game on September 28 night, following which he was airlifted to Grady Memorial Hospital in critical condition.
Nick Burgess, Thomas' uncle, said that his nephew was hit during the second quarter of the game and even though he returned to the field to play, he collapsed on the sidelines later when one of his arm and a leg went numb. The mayor of Williamson, Steve Fry, had said that the teen football player had surgery done to relieve his brain of the swelling, but then he slipped into a coma.
Fry told WAGA-TV that a vigil was held on September 30 at the high school for the student. Thomas' uncle and his school had announced that the football player died that night. By October 1 morning, a fundraiser for the student's medical cost and the lost income that had been started by his uncle had raised about $24,600.