One of Essex County's youngest victims of COVID-19 in is being remembered as a loving brother and son.
The Windsor-Essex County Health Unit confirmed a man in his 20s with no underlying conditions died of COVID-19 on Wednesday. A GoFundMe page created by family and friends identified that man as 27-year-old Weng James.
According to the page, the otherwise healthy young man was admitted to Windsor Regional Hospital on Dec. 4 and succumbed to the virus just three days later on Dec. 7.
Former Catholic Central High School basketball coach, Peter Cusumano, coached the Weng as part of the school's OFSSA championship team in 2013.
"The thing is you spend so much time together you become family, so this is why it's hard," , says Cusumano, who still can't believe he's gone.
Weng went on to play basketball for Niagara College and Windsor's St. Clair College. Cusumano tells CTV Windsor it's a sobering example that the COVID-19 virus is a threat to everyone.
"We need to take this seriously. There's people out there putting notes on nurses' windshields saying this is a joke, this isn't a joke, this kid was 27 years old, he was healthy; it can kill anybody," says Cusumano.
He says Weng was always a father figure to his brothers during summer basketball camps.
"In the summer we had all day camp, his session would be done, but Weng would stay there all day and make sure they got fed and taken care of," he says.
The James family moved from South Sudan to Calgary before moving to Windsor.
So far the GoFundMe page to for Weng's family has raised more than $14,000.