Forsyth County 17-year-old football star dies after pulmonary embolism
FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. - A star high school football player at Denmark High School in Forsyth County has died.
According to a GoFundMe account for the family, 17-year-old Finley Kruchten suffered a cardiac arrest due to a massive pulmonary embolism on the morning of Oct. 1 while at school.
He was initially transported to Northside Hospital Forsyth and then transferred to Northside Gwinnett. The clot was removed and he was in the intensive care unit when he passed away on Oct. 9, according to a GoFundMe representative.
In July, Kruchten announced on social media that he had earned a D1 (athletic scholarship) offer to play football at Marist College in New York and he recently attended a game with his family.
A post on Instagram says that Kruchten started off as an "undersized offensive lineman" and turned himself into a college prospect with multiple offers. The post also said that Kruchten would often stay after practice to help clean the locker room and he was known for helping the middle school kids with shot put. The post also describes Kruchten as an "unselfish fun loving person who smiled every chance he got."
Cardiac arrest due to a massive pulmonary embolism occurs when a large blood clot blocks a major artery in the lungs, severely disrupting blood flow and straining the heart.
Pulmonary embolisms are rare, but athletes can be at an increased risk of developing clots due to dehydration, trauma and other factors.