MACON, Ga. — Students, teachers, and staff at Mary Persons High School are mourning after a student died in a car accident Friday morning.
According to the Monroe County Sheriff's Office, 17-year-old Caden Swancey was driving his Lincoln Navigator along Juliette Road Friday morning when he ran off the road, went down an embankment, and hit a tree.
Friday, people stopped by the baseball field where a wreath stood on home plate in remembrance of the Mary Persons student and baseball player.
"He was just the life of the party. Everyone wanted to be around him. He was a light. His smile shined so bright, and people loved to be around him because he was just so much fun," said Anni Horne, one of Swancey's middle school teachers.
Swancey played as a catcher on the Mary Persons baseball team, wearing the #6 jersey.
Over the last couple years, we've featured Swancey multiple times on 13 WMAZ, showing his top plays on the field, including him taking three bases.
In March, we highlighted Swancey's first triple.
"Caden played with his whole heart," Horne said. "He took the game so seriously and was a teammate through and through."
We spoke to Swancey in May as the team celebrated a record-breaking season. That came nearly a year after their teammate Dillon McCoy died in a car accident.
From practice to winning, the Mary Persons team, along with Swancey told 13WMAZ, they "do it for Dillon," in our interview in May.
"It signifies that no matter where he is or what position he is, he'll always be with the team," Swancey said in May 2021.
"It's just heartbreaking and devastating. I don't know how much more these seniors can take. They've lived through a lot this past year, these past few years with deaths within their senior class. I just pray for them," Horne said when talking about this class losing Swancey just a year and a half after the death of baseball player Dillon McCoy.
Dozens of people are remembering Caden and talking about what kind of student and athlete he was.
In a statement, Mary Persons Principal Jim Finch said, "Caden was the model #CHAMP, well liked by faculty and students here at Mary Persons. He will be sorely missed. The school says counselors are being provided for students and staff during this time."