AVON, ohio — An Avon High School wrestler, 16-year-old Kaleb Keffer, was a son, brother and teammate. His life was tragically cut short Saturday from injuries sustained in a car accident.
On Tuesday, August 23 at about 10:14 p.m., Sheffield Village Police received a call about a crash between a semi and a vehicle in the 2200 block of Abbe Road, according to a news release from the department. The initial investigation revealed a 2011 Hyundai Santa Fe, driven by a 16-year-old later identified as Keffer, was involved in a head-on collision with the semi.
Keffer was extricated from the vehicle and flown by helicopter to Cleveland Metro Health Center with serious injuries, police said. The driver of the semi, a man in his 30s, was treated at the scene and released.
Neither alcohol nor drugs are considered to be factors in the crash, police said.
On Saturday, Keffer passed away from the injuries he sustained in the crash.
The superintendent of Avon Local Schools, Ben Hodge, sent out a letter to families that provided information on resources available to students, parents, or staff members who may need help during this difficult time.
According to the letter, there will be a candlelight vigil this Wednesday evening at Mark Wahlberg Chevrolet Stadium at 9 p.m. and a memorial service on Sunday, September 4 at 2 p.m. at the Performing Arts Center at Avon High School.
"He was willing to work with kids and whoever he worked with they got better, and he worked with kids that were less experienced than him, more experienced and he got better," said Keffer's assistant coach Mark Porter.
On Tuesday, a memorial for Kaleb had been set up at the school.
A vigil will be held on Wednesday night for Kaleb. You can watch the live stream in the player below:
The school's assistant wrestling coach has set up a verified GoFundMe page to help the family with expenses. It has already raised over $40,000.
"The memory that I have of him is just being the ultimate teammate and being someone that kids gravitated towards because he was such an energy giving person," said Porter.
Download the News 5 Cleveland app now for more stories from us, plus alerts on major news, the latest weather forecast, traffic information and much more. Download now on your Apple device here, and your Android device here.
You can also catch News 5 Cleveland on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, YouTube TV, DIRECTV NOW, Hulu Live and more. We're also on Amazon Alexa devices. Learn more about our streaming options here.
