Abel Friday-Williams was pronounced dead shortly after he was found submerged at the bottom of a waterfall in North Carolina
Credit: Jenkins Funeral Home
NEED TO KNOW
- North Carolina boy Abel Friday-Williams was pronounced dead shortly after he was found submerged in a pond at the bottom of a waterfall at Bruce Meisner Park in Hickory
- The 7-year-old boy’s family said he went into the water to help a friend who had fallen into trouble
- “It breaks my heart because he saved his friend and lost his [life],” said the boy’s aunt, Brianna Sledge
A boy drowned in a pond in North Carolina after he attempted to save his friend’s life, according to his family.
Abel Friday-Williams, 7, who is a first grader at Southwest Primary Elementary, was found submerged in a pond at the bottom of a waterfall in Bruce Meisner Park in Hickory shortly before 7 p.m. on April 1.
“When emergency responders arrived they recovered a 7-year-old male child that was submerged in a body of water that connects to the park,” the Catawba County Sheriff's Office wrote in a news release. “The child was transported to Frye Regional Medical Center where he was pronounced deceased.”
Following the tragedy, the boy’s aunt, Brianna Sledge, told local news outlet WSOC-TV that her nephew went into the water to help a friend.
Credit: WSOCTV9/YouTube
“It breaks my heart because he saved his friend and lost his [life],” she told the outlet. “He went in behind his friends to save his life and lost his.”
The boy’s cousin, Lashun Ramseur, emphasized the importance of sharing Friday-Williams’ “heartbreaking” story with the community to ensure that similar accidents don’t happen again.
“There needs to be awareness that this is very dangerous,” he said. “Just looking at the situation, it’s very, very, very dangerous.”
Fellow community member Tara Rink claimed that she recently witnessed another instance in which a man had to jump into the falls to save a little girl.
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Credit: Jenkins Funeral Home
“I assisted in pulling them out because there’s no way I could have gotten them out because the rocks are too slick,” she said. “It’s nothing but slime. It was terrifying.”
Friday-Williams is remembered for the “joy, laughter, and a spirited energy that will be deeply missed by everyone who knew and loved him,” according to his obituary.
He is survived by his mother, Jarica WIlliams, his siblings — Grayson, Kaiden, and Zalayah — and a number of aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents and great grandparents.
“Abel was a bright light in our lives, and his sudden passing has left us heartbroken and searching for comfort,” Sledge wrote on GoFundMe created to raise funds to help cover her nephew’s funeral expenses. “In moments like these, the support of friends, family, and even kind strangers means more than words can express.”
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