As of midday Wednesday, more than $76,000 had been raised via a fundraising website for the family of former BYU running back Curtis Brown and his wife, Kim, after their 2-year-old son Haze was lost in a tragic drowning accident last Sunday.
Family friend Chandler Pearson, whose wife is the cousin of Kim Brown, organized the GoFundMe account and set an initial goal of $100,000 to cover funeral expenses and other funds needed to help the family 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 dozens and dozens of Curtis Brown’s former teammates and coaches, including Utah State head coach Bronco Mendenhall, who was Curtis’ coach during his time at BYU from 2002-2006, have reached out since the drowning happened last Sunday.
At the time of his departure from BYU, Curtis Brown was the leading rusher in BYU history with 3,193 yards. A native of Palmdale, California, Brown signed a free agent deal with the Cleveland Browns but never made it in the NFL, according to his profile on BYUCougars.com.
He currently works in pharmaceutical sales in Clovis, California, while Kim Brown works a day or two a week as a nurse. Pearson said the donations goal may be adjusted upward to take the financial pressure off the family moving forward.
The couple’s other four children are heavily involved in sports, academics and the like, he said.
Haze Brown was the couple’s fifth child, and called a “miracle baby” by Pearson in the GoFundMe account because he came after “much prayer and fasting” and through some medical intervention after the couple experienced 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 family includes 13-year-old triplets and a 12-year-old who was conceived naturally while a surrogate mother was carrying the triplets.
After the toddler was found in the family pool and rushed to the hospital, first-responders were able to get “a flicker of a heartbeat,” but the child could not be revived.
Tony Botti, Public Information Officer for the Fresno County Sheriff Coroner’s Office, confirmed via email Wednesday that 2-year-old 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, so the family is “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 had already planned to return to Utah and California for a series of family events — bridal showers, mission farewells and weddings — within the next few weeks.
Pearson said the outpouring of love and support for the family the past four days has been welcomed and appreciated, but now the family “needs some space” as it moves forward from the tragedy.
“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.”