Community comes together for 13-year-old boy who died over the weekend
A 13-year-old boy died over the weekend, and now the community is raising support as the cause of his death is investigated.
A Go Fund Me page is aiming to raise $10,000 for Jarrod Dougherty’s funeral expenses and at least two local fundraisers are joining the effort. Jarrod died over the weekend. A source tells KESQ and CBS Local 2 that his death is under investigation but there isn’t a lot of details available at this time.
“That smile that just came on my face that was Jarrod. All the time,” Vice President of the Palm Springs Youth Baseball League Jeff Jordan said.
Monday night, more than 100 people came out to Demuth Park to remember 13-year-old Jarrod Dougherty who died over the weekend. His team and the community remembered him with a memorial on one of the park’s fields.
“It ran the gamut. It was everything from devastation sadness to laughing about the good times they had together as teammates, as friends. Some of his old coaches reminiscing, for me it was a sense of love and warmth and family,” president of the Palm Springs Youth Baseball League Richard Jenkins said.
Dougherty was in his second year as a catcher on his team called the Bombers.
A makeshift memorial has been moved from the field to the front of the snack bar where it will stay until the end of the season.
Dougherty’s former coach said he will be missed.
“He loved to be out here and have fun. He was just always having fun no matter if we were down if people were down if we were losing in a game. He was always just wanting to have fun and he just had a great spirit,” Jordan said.
“He was a good player. He had recently injured his shoulder playing the sport but was still at every game. He was starting to learn how to score keep and his coach tells me he started coaching his team mates,” Jenkins said.
The league said they plan to rename one of the fields in Dougherty’s nickname “Country”. He received that nickname because he was originally from Oklahoma.
KESQ News Channel 3 and CBS Local 2’s Katie Widner spoke to Jarrod’s mother, Cassandra, on Tuesday morning. We’re expecting to speak to her in the near future to get more details about her son’s untimely death.
A car wash fundraiser is being held Sunday, May 14, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at St. Theresa Schools’ parking lot, located at 455 Compadre Road, Palm Springs. Organizers are asking for a $5 minimum donation for small cars and $10 for trucks and SUVs.
A spaghetti dinner fundraiser was held on Friday.
KESQ News Channel 3 and CBS Local 2 will bring you more information as we hear back from Jarrod’s mother.
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