Family Member Dies in School Pick Up Line

A routine afternoon pickup turned tragic at a South Carolina high school after a family member suffered a medical emergency and died while waiting for a student to be dismissed.

The unidentified person was sitting in the car line at Dorman High School in Roebuck on Thursday, Sept. 3, when the medical emergency occurred, according to local reports.

The incident happened in a highly visible area near the front of the school, meaning students, staff and other families may have witnessed the emergency unfold.

Dorman High School Principal Joshua Dawkins later sent a message to parents acknowledging the tragedy and offering counseling to anyone affected by what they saw.

“A number of students and others on campus may have witnessed the emergency,” Dawkins said, according to WYFF News 4.

He encouraged parents to contact the school’s mental health counselors if their children appeared to need additional support.

“We ask that you keep the family in your thoughts and prayers,” Dawkins added.

Few official details about the person who died have been released, including their identity or the nature of the medical emergency.

A local community member, Arna Hardin, claimed in a Facebook post that the person was a woman who had been waiting to pick up her nephew.

Hardin also said the woman had recently lost both her husband and father and had been dealing with serious health problems of her own.

“This family really needs a lot of prayers,” Hardin wrote.

Dorman High School Athletics announced that all sporting events scheduled for Thursday were canceled following the incident.

Dorman High School serves students in grades 9 through 12, although ninth graders attend a separate campus. Nearly 3,000 students are enrolled at the main campus, which serves grades 10 through 12.

Students had only recently returned from summer vacation, with classes beginning Aug. 6 — less than a month before the heartbreaking death.

No additional information about the medical emergency had been released as of Sunday.