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WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 31, 2018
The voice of Delta since 1922
Community remembers Kyle Celebration of life for teen attended by hundreds at Winskill Park IAN JACQUES
i j a c q u e s @ d e l t a - o p t i m i s t .co m
There were tears, laughter and memories. A community came together Sunday afternoon at the peewee baseball diamond at Winskill Park in Tsawwassen to remember an outstanding baseball player, but most importantly, an outstanding young man. Kyle Losse, 14, a popular South Delta Secondary student, died tragically last Tuesday following a serious brain injury. The exact cause of his death is still under investigation. Dressed in their favourite baseball gear, hundreds of players, coaches, family, friends and community Kyle Losse members remembered Kyle’s passion for baseball, family, friends and life. “Baseball was his life, so we thought it would be fitting to celebrate his life on the diamond,” said his stepmom Niki prior to the start of the celebration. “Through the outpouring of support from the community and through Facebook, we just wanted everyone to be able to come together and celebrate our son’s life together.” Kyle’s dad Brian said it was crazy how Kyle had such a profound impact on so many people. “We are blessed and very happy that everyone has come here to attend to celebrate his
Investigations on two fronts
IAN JACQUES
i j a c q u e s @ d e l t a - o p t i m i s t .co m
PHOTO BY ADRIAN MACNAIR
Kyle Losse’s stepmom Niki wipes away tears as she speaks at a celebration of life Sunday at Winskill Park in Tsawwassen. life and what he has done not only as a person, but as an athlete,” Brian said. Neal McDonough, whose son Morgan played with Kyle this past year as part of the Tsawwassen Athletics peewee AA provincial championship team, described the turnout as “awesome.” “This is what a community like this does — you support, you love and obviously we all loved Kyle,” McDonough said during his opening remarks. “We
are gathered here at his favourite place — a baseball field — a place where he dominated not just as a hitter, not just as a pitcher, but as a leader.” Brian talked about Kyle’s early days growing up where he dominated first on the soccer pitch, then on the baseball diamond. He also played football with the South Delta Rams and clearly blossomed into a sports fanatic both on and off the field. Kyle was scouted by the Arizona Diamondbacks and
was one of the top players in the province in his age group. He was preparing for his first season with the Bantam AAA Delta Tigers. “Kyle was a leader on our provincial-winning team, but he never bragged, he never made degrading comments to his teammates or other teams. He just went out, did his job and wanted to do his best and give his best at every moment,” said Brian. DAD: see Page 3
Two investigations have been launched trying to determine the cause of death of Kyle Losse. The popular 14-year-old from Tsawwassen died suddenly last week after a serious brain injury. After falling in the bathroom at his home on the evening of Jan. 21 while he was apparently vaping nicotine, Kyle was taken to Delta Hospital. He was discharged after eight hours of monitoring and tests the following morning, but his condition soon worsened and he was rushed to BC Children’s Hospital where a CT scan showed a significant brain injury that doctors could not explain. He was taken off life support last Tuesday. The BC Coroner’s Service and Fraser Health are both investigating. According to the Coroners’ Service, upon conclusion of its investigation, a public report will be released, which will set out the coroner’s findings, including a cause of death and possibly recommendations to prevent future deaths. Fraser Health confirmed it has been communicating with the family and will do so throughout its investigation. “We are doing our own review, as we would with any unexpected death,” said spokesperson Tasleem Juma.
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