SEVIER COUNTY, Utah (ABC4) — Friends of the Utah teenager who died in a tetherball accident over the weekend are remembering him as kind-hearted and loyal.
Maximus Knight, 13, of Venice, died Saturday after a tetherball rope got tangled around his neck on his family’s farm.
Relatives found him unresponsive. Emergency crews rushed him to a hospital for critical treatment, but he died that night.
Sevier County Sheriff Nathan Curtis described what happened as an accident, saying there was no evidence of foul play or anything suspicious.
A group of Knight’s friends spoke to ABC4 about Maximus. They described him as someone who was quick to comfort and defend his friends.
“He would always stick up for others if anyone was talking bad about us,” said Treyton, one of Maximus’ friends. “He would always stand up for us … he wasn’t scared to put people in their place.”
On Monday night, the community in the Southern Utah town gathered at a candlelight vigil to remember Maximus.
An online fundraiser was set up to help his family pay for funeral expenses and the cost of emergency medical care. The page reached its goal in a matter of days, amassing more than $25,000.
“We are so amazed at the support given to this family, and want to thank everyone for their donations and kind words,” wrote Laurie Ann Thor, the organizer and Maximus’ aunt, on Wednesday.
Donations on the page have since been shut off as relatives and community members work to assess the Knight family’s needs.
