Former BYU running back Curtis Brown and his family are grieving the loss of their 2-year-old son, Haze, after a drowning accident last Sunday.
A GoFundMe organized by family friend Chandler Pearson had brought in more than $76,000 by midday Wednesday, with an initial goal of $100,000 to help cover funeral costs and other needs as the Browns begin to recover from the tragedy. Pearson, whose wife is Kim Brown’s cousin, said the family is being held up by the people closest to them.
“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 already spread through Brown’s football circle, with dozens of former teammates and coaches reaching out since the accident. That list includes Utah State head coach Bronco Mendenhall, who coached Curtis Brown at BYU from 2002-2006.
Brown left BYU as the program’s all-time leading rusher with 3,193 yards. A native of Palmdale, California, he later signed a free agent deal with the Cleveland Browns but never played in the NFL, according to his profile on BYUCougars.com.
He now works in pharmaceutical sales in Clovis, California. Kim Brown works as a nurse one or two days a week. Pearson said the fundraising target could be raised if needed to ease the family’s financial burden in the months ahead.
The Browns have five children, and Pearson said the four older kids are active in sports, academics and other pursuits. Haze was the youngest, and Pearson described him in the GoFundMe as a “miracle baby” who arrived after “much prayer and fasting” and medical intervention following fertility struggles.
“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 family includes 13-year-old triplets and a 12-year-old who was conceived naturally while a surrogate mother was carrying the triplets.
Tony Botti, public information officer for the Fresno County Sheriff Coroner’s Office, confirmed Wednesday that Haze Brown of Clovis “drowned in a swimming pool on July 26″ and was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.
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 events including bridal showers, mission farewells and weddings.
Pearson said the support has meant a lot, but the family now needs room to process what happened.
“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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