The family of former BYU running back Curtis Brown is grieving after the death of their 2-year-old son, Haze, in a drowning accident last Sunday, while support for the Browns has quickly grown in the days since.
By midday Wednesday, a GoFundMe set up for Curtis and Kim Brown had brought in more than $76,000. Family friend Chandler Pearson, whose wife is Kim Brown’s cousin, organized the fundraiser with an initial goal of $100,000 to help cover funeral costs and other expenses as the family tries to recover.
“They are completely leaning on each other, their friends, and their faith right now,” Pearson said Wednesday from his home in Temecula, California. “They are completely rocked and will be for quite some time.”
Pearson said the response has reached far beyond the family circle, with dozens and dozens of Curtis Brown’s former teammates and coaches getting in touch since the accident. Among them was Utah State head coach Bronco Mendenhall, who coached Brown at BYU from 2002-2006.
Brown left BYU as the school’s all-time leading rusher with 3,193 yards. A Palmdale, California native, he later signed a free agent deal with the Cleveland Browns but never made it in the NFL, according to his profile on BYUCougars.com.
Today, Curtis Brown works in pharmaceutical sales in Clovis, California, while Kim Brown works a day or two a week as a nurse. Pearson said the fundraising target could be raised if needed so the family can face what comes next with less financial strain.
Haze was the Browns’ fifth child and, in Pearson’s GoFundMe description, a “miracle baby” who came after “much prayer and fasting” and some medical intervention after the couple dealt with fertility issues.
“The other children (are a bit older) and they felt like another baby was waiting for them,” Pearson said. “Little Haze brought so much joy and light to the family.
Obviously, they are absolutely devastated. We all are.”
The Browns also have 13-year-old triplets and a 12-year-old who was conceived naturally while a surrogate mother was carrying the triplets.
After Haze was found in the family pool and taken to the hospital, first-responders were able to get “a flicker of a heartbeat,” but he could not be revived.
Tony Botti, public information officer for the Fresno County Sheriff Coroner’s Office, confirmed by email Wednesday that Haze Brown of Clovis “drowned in a swimming pool on July 26″ and was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.
Pearson said an autopsy is still pending, leaving the family “in a holding pattern” before funeral arrangements can be made.
Kim Brown’s parents have been serving a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Croatia, but they had already planned to return to Utah and California in the coming weeks for family gatherings that include bridal showers, mission farewells and weddings.
The support has poured in over the past four days, Pearson said, but the Browns now need room to grieve.
“It has been an unimaginable loss for everyone involved,” Pearson said. “This family is beloved in their community, by their ward members, by everybody. Everybody knows who they are, and everybody is saddened beyond description.”
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