Ex-Georgia high school wrestling star killed in jet ski accident remembered as ‘angel,’ ‘superhero’

WSBTV.com News Staff
·2 min read
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A small Georgia community is remembering the life of a former high school wrestling star who died in a jet-ski accident in Alabama.

The accident happened on Weiss Lake on Saturday night, according to the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency. Officials said 19-year-old Daegen Vaughn was driving a jet ski when it ran aground and hit a tree.

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The crash killed Vaughn and sent his passenger, 22-year-old Mason Sterner, to the hospital. Both men were wearing life jackets at the time of the crash.

Vaughn was a wrestling star at Trion High School. His father told Channel 2′s ABC affiliate WTVC that he was one-of-a-kind.

“They took him away from us because they needed an angel.. And he was worthy of being an angel up top,” Jason Vaughn said. “Now I have to look up and tell him.. He truly was my superhero.”

During his four years at Trion High School, Daegan Vaughn placed four times at the state wrestling championships. He had the third best wrestling career record at the school.

“He was part of what we called the dream team,” Jason Vaughn said.

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Eric Brock coached Daegan Vaughn since he was five years old. In a phone call with Channel 2 Action News on Wednesday, he said it felt like he lost a son, too.

“Our team is like a family. It’s about as close of a feeling to losing a son as you can imagine,” Brock told Channel 2. “He lit up the room as he walked in. He never met a stranger. He made everything around him better.”

Vaughn’s father told WTVC that their memories of his son will live on.

“Just to know the hearts, the lives he’s touched and going touch is truly it gives us the strength to move on right now,” he said.

Vaughn’s funeral service was held on Thursday. Members of the Trion wrestling and football teams will serve as pallbearers. Brock said the wrestling team is working with the Vaughn family to set up a scholarship fund in his memory.

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