Brooks Co. teen die after hit by a car over the weekend

VALDOSTA, Ga. (WALB) - A Brooks County Middle School football player is dead after a weekend crash.

Loved ones are devastated after the 12-year-old was killed when he was hit by a car on Loch Laurel Road.

Brooks County teen died after hit by a car over the weekend.(WALB)

“He was a great student, he loved sports, he had joined the band, he loved making people laugh, he was a wonderful kid. You couldn’t ask for any better. He marched to the beat of his own drum. He was his own person,” a family member said.

Brooks County Middle School released a statement saying 6th-grader Michael Rodgers passed away in a tragic accident on Saturday.

The accident happened near an intersection on Torree Pines Lane Saturday night.

Georgia State Patrol says Rodgers was walking on Loch Laurel Road when it happened.

A loved one says he was walking with his older brother and a friend, coming back from the store when he was hit. GSP confirmed.

“They were on the way back. He was in his own world,” he said.

GSP tells us a teen and another passenger were driving on that road too.

Troopers say the passenger said, “Look out”.

The driver slammed the breaks but couldn’t stop on time and hit Rodgers.

We have requested the crash report from GSP for more details.

The family member tells me they spoke to the driver involved.

“And we do not blame them whatsoever. We wish that we could take it all back and we wish nothing but the best for those two girls. Because this will change their lives, just like how it has to ours,” he said.

If you would like to help the family, he says you can donate to Brooks County’s athletic department for the middle school in Rodger’s name.

He says Rodgers loved it, he played football and wanted to play basketball.