High school football player dies in Huntersville crash; 3 classmates hospitalized

HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. — A community is mourning after a Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools student and football player died in a serious crash. Three of his classmates are in the hospital.

It happened around 9:30 p.m. Friday at the intersection of Hambright and Everett Keith roads in Huntersville. According to the Huntersville Fire Department, Caleb Kibula was pulled from an overturned car. MEDIC said he died at the scene.

First responders pulled three other students from the car and took them to the hospital with life-threatening injuries.

According to CMS, all four teenagers attended Mallard Creek High School. The head coach of the school’s football team told Channel 9 that Kibula, a junior, played on the team.

By Monday, Kibula’s friends and classmates took to social media expressing the loss of a great friend and teammate.

The Mallard Creek Football account on Instagram posted a picture of Kibula on the field wearing No. 65. More than a thousand people left comments under the post expressing their condolences.

The Mallard Creek principal sent a message to families over the weekend saying counselors will be highly visible throughout the school and available for students. He also called on everyone to care for and support each other.

Huntersville first responders also sent their condolences.

The full statement sent to Mallard Creek HS families is below:

Death can be difficult for us to understand, especially when it is sudden. We may feel a variety of emotions: shock, sadness, or confusion. What is most important is that we care for and support each other. The Crisis Response Team at Mallard Creek will be available this week to respond to the emotional needs of all students and available to assist with counseling. Counselors will be highly visible throughout the building and available to assist with grief counseling for students and staff.

If your family has experienced a death, an accident with serious injuries or similar incident recently, this accident and the loss of our student may bring up strong emotions. Please make your student’s teacher or our counselors are aware if there is any additional information the school should be aware of so we can provide the support your student needs.

Our prayers will continue to be with these families and the entire Mallard Creek community.

The wreck is still under investigation.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

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