Tragedy hit another Central Florida high school football squad this past week when DeLand linebacker Dafino Devega lost his mother in a drowning incident in the St. John’s River near Ed Stone Park, west of DeLand.
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Nicole Grayson, 43, was trying to rescue her 4-year-old son on Saturday after he fell into the river attempting to retrieve a toy, according to a Volusia County Sheriff’s Department news release.
“It’s horrible the way she died, saving her son,” DeLand football coach Rick Darlington said.
On July 4, the mother of West Orange quarterback AJ Chung passed away after a four-year battle with cancer. Last fall, the Oviedo football team circled around running back Brock Joyce after his mother passed away from heart failure.
West Orange QB AJ Chung mourns mom: ‘Cannot be explained through words’
Darlington and other coaches visited with Devega’s family the day after the incident.
“He’s taken it pretty hard, obviously,” Darlington said. “We went and saw him the next day and prayed with him, and he was real appreciative of that.
“When we were in camp, the previous week, we do a thing where the kids talk about who their heroes are. And he said his mom was his hero, and she died a hero saving the little boy.”
Deputies were called to the scene, where witnesses told authorities the woman jumped in to save her son.
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While units responded, a witness at the park flagged down a boater, who threw two life preservers to Grayson and her son. Grayson became submerged as she struggled to hold her son above water, according to the release.
The boater was able to get close enough to pull the 4-year-old onto the vessel unharmed. Another witness at the park jumped in and swam to Grayson, helped lift her onto the boat and performed CPR until EMS arrived and took over, the report reads.
Grayson was transported to the hospital where life-saving measures continued, authorities said. Despite all efforts to revive her, Grayson was unable to recover and passed away in the ICU around 10 p.m. Saturday.
The sheriff’s department said the initial investigation indicates the 4-year-old was playing with something near a wooden fence at the river’s edge when he dropped it over the fence. He was trying to retrieve it when he fell in the water, and Grayson went in to rescue him.
Darlington said he was not sure what Devega would decide to do next week with football practices scheduled to open across the state on Monday. Devega transferred to DeLand from Orange City University High in the spring. He was the leading tackler in Volusia County last season with 128 tackles.
“We’ll obviously work with him on that,” Darlington said. “It’s definitely a hard situation.”
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A GoFundMe page has been set up to help with funeral expenses.
Chris Hays can be found on X.com @OS_ChrisHays.