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Brockton HS student dead after crashing into tree, cause under investigation

BROCKTON, Mass. — A 15-year-old boy has died after a car crash in Brockton Tuesday afternoon.

The crash happened around 1 p.m. on Summer Street when the driver slammed into a tree.

The boy, identified as Isaias Caban, was a student at Brockton High School and according to family he was leaving baseball practice when the crash happened.

To make the loss of Isaias life even more tragic, it happened on his father's 51st birthday.

“I wish it was me that's gone, not my son,” Osvaldo Caban said.

Isaias was a passenger in the car. The driver and another person, both Brockton HS students, were taken to area hospitals.

“It was a humongous booming sound. It shook the house,” Marissa Rodrigues, who lives near where the crash happened, said. “It look like someone took a piece of paper and crunched the paper up.”

School officials said there will be grief counselors available for students at the high school on Wednesday.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of those involved and our school community during this very difficult time," a letter from Superintendent Kathleen Smith said.

In addition to playing baseball, Isaias was in the ROTC and wanted to follow in the path of his older sister who is in the military.

“He said ‘Pappi I don't want to be a professional baseball player like you, I want to join the military, I want to serve my country,’” his father said. "He really wanted to serve this country. He was taken away from me too early."

Family members said they believe speed was a factor in the crash, but investigators have not commented on that at this time.