TYLER, Texas — An East Texas man is mourning the loss his nephew who died Sunday after suffering severe injuries during the Astroworld Festival in Houston.
William is the granduncle of 9-year-old Ezra Blount, and he was shocked when he heard he passed away.
"When I got the news, I was just devastated," said William. "Like all the rest of my family and it’s still unreal right now."
During the time Ezra was in the hospital, William along with other close friends and family, prayed and stayed encouraged in hopes for a better outcome.
William says this loss is hard to put into words and one of the many things he’ll miss about Ezra is his smile.
“I’m going to miss his smile more than anything, he had an infectious smile," Williams said. "It's just devastating that a nine-year-old will have to go through this. Pass away and not get a chance to live out his life."
Ezra was sitting on his father's shoulders when chaos erupted at the festival. He had been on a ventilator and was in a medically-induced coma at Texas Children's Hospital.
When the crowd surged, Ezra's father lost consciousness and Ezra fell resulting in him being trampled by the crowd.
Ezra lived with his mother in Denton, according to the mother's lawyer.
A GoFundMe account was created by Ezra’s dad and has raised more than $90,000 to help the family with his final expenses. To donate click here.