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A 16-year-old teenager is being remembered as a "hero" after he died while attempting to save a friend who fell through an icy lake in Georgia.
Koren Brooks, 16, was playing with four friends on top of a frozen Ellison Lake days before the new year when the ice started to crack underneath them.
Neighbor Alex Pollard, who witnessed the tragic incident, said he thought nothing of teens playing on the ice that coated the lake until he heard screams.
“It looked pretty sturdy at first, so I didn’t think much of it,” Pollard told FOX 5. But two teens ultimately fell through the lake and got trapped in the ice.
“One of the kids was holding on to the other one,” the neighbor recalled.
Koren was attempting to save his friend from the icy waters. After first responders arrived, they were able to quickly pull the friend out of the water but were unable to find Koren until over an hour later.
The 16-year-old was pronounced dead at a local hospital.
“Koren saved one of his friend’s life, but the cold slushy iced water was [too] much, Koren got caught in debris under the cold water and didn’t come up,” Koren's aunt Brandy Wells explained on a GoFundMe page raising money for his funeral expenses.
“You’re a hero!" Wells said of Koren on Facebook, per the Atlanta Blackstar. You are the only friend who risked your life because you’re [are] bold, brave, and loved hard. You wouldn’t hurt a soul and every kid, big or small, admired you.”
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