HOLLYWOOD, Fla. – Fritznel Pierre, a student at Fort Lauderdale High School, was swimming in a lake with his friends when he drowned.
"He got a cramp while swimming and he just couldn't make it across," his friend Ian Lyons said.
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Fritznel's family wasn't financially prepared to cover his funeral costs, the boy's uncle Olvenso Savoie said. He set up a GoFundMe account.
His family is "in a very difficult position -- dealing with his loss and not having the means to properly honor him," Savoie wrote in the GoFundMe account's summary.
Savoie described him as kind and caring teen. His friend Jasmin Montes, who shared the GoFundMe account with Local 10 News, described him as a "kind hearted" and "amazing" boy.
"This has been a extremely devastating time for me and all of his close friends," Jasmin said. She said she is hoping "our community will come together to raise enough money to host Fritznel's funeral as soon as possible."