April Helms
The Racine family of a 19-year-old Kent State University student is wrestling with his untimely death after a night with friends turned tragic.
Jayden Brieske, a sophomore studying business, was at the University Inn off-campus apartments with two friends Wednesday night when they decided to climb onto the roof, said Brieske's uncle, Jake Gordon of Hudson, Ohio. When Brieske was climbing down, he slipped and fell, hitting concrete.
"He fell in the worst possible way," Gordon said.
Gordon said his nephew's friends did not see what happened but when they realized something was wrong, one started to administer first aid while the other called 911.
Brieske, a 2023 graduate of Racine Horlick, fought to survive but ultimately died Friday of complications from his injuries, his uncle said.
Brieske had been staying with the Gordons while he attended Kent State. Most of his family is from Racine.
Gordon said he and his wife recently moved to Hudson themselves less than three years ago with their two young children.
Along with attending college classes, Brieske worked as a cashier at the Heinens store in Hudson, his uncle said.
"Needless to say, we are all in shock," Gordon said. "... Most of us, we get chances with stuff. That's the brutal part to me. He had a free ride to Kent State and was the best kid, never got into trouble, never said a bad word about anyone. He watched our two boys, 10 and 5, all the time for date nights — took them to Skyzone once a week."
Kent State University issued the following statement on Monday: "We are deeply saddened to learn about the death of Jayden Brieske. A Wisconsin native, Jayden was a sophomore at Kent State University majoring in general business. The Kent State community sends its thoughts and prayers to Jayden’s family, friends and all who knew and loved him."
Gordon said that Brieske was looking forward to studying abroad next year.
"He was nervous about it but he was looking forward to it," he said. "He was on the cusp of all sorts of cool things going on for him."
Brieske had a passion for cars and wanted to work in the automotive industry, Gordon said.
"When he was 4 and 5, he could tell you what each car was," he said. "He wanted to do a design type of role."
Brieskie also "liked hanging around with family," his uncle said. "He made a lot of effort to get home to Wisconsin often."
A GoFundMe account has been set up to help cover medical costs and for bringing his body back to Wisconsin.
Carrie Lampkin, who set up the account, said money raised will be given to his mother. As of Monday night, more than $7,600 had been raised.
Lampkin said that Brieske's final surgery was to donate his organs.
"He had insurance, but there will still be a ton of bills when everything is said and done," Lampkin wrote on the GoFundMe page. "It is also going to cost extra to bring Jayden home from Ohio."
Reporter April Helms can be reached at ahelms@thebeaconjournal.com.
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