Hundreds Line The Block To Pay Respect To Fallen Athlete
FENNVILLE (WWJ) - Hundreds of people turned out over the weekend to pay their respects to a Michigan high school basketball player. Sixteen-year-old Wes Leonard collapsed after scoring the winning shot at Fennville High School on March 3.
An autopsy shows he died from an enlarged heart. WWJ's Eric Gemmell says everyone in the small town is in shock.
"Wes really touched the whole entire community, not only was he on the basketball team, he was also on the football team, his mother taught in the school-his father volunteered, his brothers and sisters were very, very active in the community. They kept reiterating how much that this family has been such a huge part of the community of Fennville," says Gemmell.
"Everybody is, in one way or another has been affected by this," says Fennville resident Mary VanOss. "They're in the school, they're at the games, they're helping everywhere and everybody. They're just a really giving and kind family."
Leonard collapsed and fell to the ground during a post-game celebration. A funeral is set for Tuesday at Christ Memorial Church in Holland.
More on the difficult decision the basketball team struggled with - read here.
