A 17-year-old San Marcos High School student died in a skateboarding accident in Los Angeles last week.
Tayden Tomblin died while on a family Thanksgiving trip.
Friends have started a GoFundMe fundraising campaign for the family.
“This Thanksgiving weekend, the Tomblin family experienced a tragedy no family should ever endure,” the GoFundMe states. “Their beloved 17-year-old son, Tayden, passed away from injuries sustained in a skateboarding accident while the family was visiting friends in the Los Angeles area. As we all process this devastating loss, many friends and loved ones are asking how they can help.”
The GoFundMe had raised more than $60,000 as of Monday evening.
“No parent should ever have to walk through this kind of pain, and our hope is to lift as much financial burden as possible during this heartbreaking time,” according to the GoFundMe. “All contributions will go directly to the Tomblin family to support their immediate needs, provide space for healing, and give them the time they need to honor Tayden’s life.”
Dare Holdren, principal at San Marcos High School, said Tomblin was a member of the water polo and swim teams, and was part of the Entrepreneurship Academy and a member of the Culinary Arts Program. Holdren said he had “an incredibly bright future.”
“There are no words to express the loss of one of our students, and it would be futile for me to try now,” he said in a message to the campus community. “I send my love to each and every one of you, and only ask that you honor Tayden’s memory by continuing to cherish your friends, your family and yourselves.”
Holdren noted that Tomblin’s last act on Earth was to serve as an organ donor.
Last Saturday, more than 50 friends and family joined the Tomblin family for Tayden’s Honor Walk, from the UCLA intensive care unit to the OneLegacy organ donation center.
“Hospital staff lined the hallways alongside loved ones, filling the space with quiet support as the family took this final walk with Tayden — both a heartbreaking goodbye and a moment to honor the lifesaving gifts his organ donation will bring to others,” according to the GoFundMe.