Alburgh residents are mourning Thursday’s death of a 14-year-old student at the town’s elementary school that officials say was the result of a medical emergency.
Vermont State Police said the student collapsed in gym class at the Alburgh Community Education Center, and after first responders attempted “lifesaving measures,” she was transported to Northwestern Medical Center in St. Albans, where she was pronounced dead.
State police did not name the student in a press release on Thursday, though an online fundraiser for the costs of a memorial service identifies her as Adrianna Bohannon. The fundraiser was launched Friday and had raised more than $10,000 by the afternoon.
A candlelight vigil for Bohannon was planned for 7 p.m. Friday in front of the school.
According to the fundraiser, which called Bohannon a “vibrant, cheerful, young woman,” the student leaves behind her mother and a younger brother.
On Facebook, one person who said Bohannon was their niece called the 14-year-old “the most loving caring child,” who “could always put a smile on your face.”
Michael Savage, the Alburgh School Board chair, called the student’s death “very tragic” in a message Friday afternoon, adding the board was respecting her family’s privacy.
Staff from Northwestern Counseling and Support Services, a St. Albans organization, were at the Alburgh school Friday to talk to students and school employees.
— Shaun Robinson