THE heartbroken dad of a 17-year-old who tragically died at a race track has paid tribute to his son who “shone in everything he did”.
George Edwards, from Basildon, died last weekend while taking part in a motocross event at West Row, near Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, and tragically passed away at the scene.
His father, Russ Edwards, has now paid tribute to his passionate and enthusiastic son, admitting the loss will “haunt him” for the rest of his life.
The teenager was taking part in a practice day with his Benfleet club, Kickstart MX, who also paid tribute to him as a “great lad” and held a ride-out in his memory on Saturday.
A fundraiser has now been set up to support the family and has already received £2,750 in donations.
Russ said: “It was a practice day, and it was a practice track, he had raced two days before and a load of us went up there, a good six or eight, he had ridden that track many times and he knew the track so well.
“There was nothing out of the ordinary.”
When he realised the seriousness of the crash, Russ immediately ran to his son.
“There were 35 minutes spent, including with the air ambulance, to resuscitate him,” he said.
“He had passed and just the state of him was something that will haunt me for the rest of my life.”
Russ added: “I was immensely proud of everything he did and as any father would be.
“I am so proud of him and his achievements.
“He left school a year ago, he was a good worker, and people never had a bad word to say about him.
“I am so proud of him, all he did was shine at everything he did and it is a great tragedy that he was taken away from me.”
Russ has also thanked the “phenomenal” effort of people coming together in support of himself and George, especially the Kickstart Mx team in Benfleet, who held a ride-out event on Saturday.
He said: “There are some great people down there, it is for the youngsters down there and they have been such a great help.
“They are such nice people in the community, we never met bad people there and the local bike shop Phoenix Cycles have been great.”
To donate, visit gofundme.com/f/in-memory-of-our-george
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