Coroner Says Local 10-Year-Old Student Died From Asphyxia

UPDATE:  The Lancaster County Coroner’s Office says the cause of death for Dylan Lemieux is asphyxia.  Officials say the manner of death is still under investigation.

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INDIAN LAND, SC — “He embodied and was the epitome of a kid who had great positive energy,” said Harrisburg Elementary School Principal Steven Puckett.

Puckett says the news of 10 year old Dylan Lemieux’s death came as a shock to the tight knit Indian Land school.

“He was pretty visible in our school. He was one of those boys who had lots of energy, and we try to take those boys with that great energy and turn them into great leaders.”

School officials found out about Dylan’s death Wednesday night, according to Puckett, and tried to make sure all of Dylan’s home room classmates got the tragic news before coming back to school Thursday morning.

“The kids were in there grieving together. It was a testament to how close the class is and the job the teacher had done creating a team atmosphere within that class because they were really just grieving together,” said Puckett.

Puckett says they’ve reached out to the family to offer support, and, with no confirmation on what happened, they are choosing to focus on celebrating his life.

“Every time you would see this kid you would see just a smile on his face. He would make a point to go out of his way to make eye contact with you,”said Puckett.