15-year-old high school football player tragically dies after tree falls on him during severe storm

A 15-year-old high school football player was killed by a falling tree during a severe storm in Anderson, South Carolina on Monday. 

Evan Kinley was getting out of his car in his grandparents’ driveway along Arnold Drive near Kings Road around 5 p.m. on Monday, as he was checking in on them. He was walking toward the garage when a large tree was uprooted during the storm and fell on him. 

First responders tried their best to cut away at the tree and get Kinley out, but they determined he had passed away from his injuries after reaching him. The Anderson County Coroner’s Office ruled the death accidental due to the severe weather, per FOX Carolina. 

Kinley was a sophomore at T.L. Hanna High School, and the student body is trying to grieve through his loss. 

“For them, the [football] team and that family, dealing with that tragedy is just imaginable,” Kyle Newton, Communications for Anderson District 5, told WSPA 7NEWS. 

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“Any time that you have a student pass away, it’s hard on the school and the district and the family. You just can’t imagine what they’re going through right now.”

Anderson School District 5 superintendent Brenda Kelly also released a statement following Kinley’s death. 

“Our thoughts and prayers are with his family at this time, and additional support staff members will serve at TL Hanna tomorrow to help students and staff process this tragedy,” the statement read. “Words never seem to convey comfort during a time like this, but please take a moment to remember why we are in the roles that we are, and please keep Evan, his family, and the TLH students, faculty, and staff in mind as you go about your day tomorrow. 

“As the district learns more information about arrangements, we will be sure to send that information out accordingly.”

Kinley’s hobbies off the gridiron included being a junior firefighter with the Broadway Fire Department. He was also an outdoorsman who loved hunting and fishing, according to his obituary.

“Please keep this family in your thoughts and prayers,” Broadway Fire Department posted on Facebook. “The next few days are going to be rough on them. Evan was a great kid!! He was a Junior Firefighter with us and we were really looking forward to having him in the future. He’ll definitely be missed. Rest in peace our young friend. Gone too soon!!!”