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A 15-year-old Tennessee boy died while going for a run as temperatures soared into triple digits in his neighborhood.
Tristen Franklin was jogging in his neighborhood on his usual route when he collapsed on Tuesday, according to WSMV. Neighbors called 911 after finding the fallen teen but help arrived too late.
While he ran on Sycamore High School’s cross country team, he was not on school property when the tragedy occurred.
His cause of death is not immediately clear but it coincided with extreme heat in the state.
The school is located in Pleasant View, Tennessee, less than 30 miles from Nashville. Temperatures hit a record-breaking 102 degrees in the area on Thursday, while a brutal 100 degrees was recorded on Tuesday and Wednesday, according to WKRN.
Average August temperatures in the Nashville area are typically in the upper 80s.
Locals expressed their heartache over the teen’s death.
“The Cheatham County School District is deeply saddened to learn of the passing of a Sycamore High School student,” district spokesperson Tim Adkins said in a statement to The Tennessean. “Our heartfelt thoughts and prayers go out to the student’s family and friends during this difficult time.”
“The impact of such a loss is immeasurable,” Adkins said, adding that counseling services were available.
“It is so sad. He was so young and had his whole life ahead of him,” Troy Simpkins, who exchanged waves with Franklin while he was on his run, told WSMV. “Tell the people in your life how much you love them.”
Meanwhile, a tobacco farmer’s death in the area earlier this week was also believed to have been caused by heat exhaustion. Cheatham County first responders are awaiting the autopsy reports in both cases.
The Independent has emailed the Cheatham County Sheriff’s Department for more information.
