COLLEGE Football star Sione Veikoso has died at 22 after he got trapped under the debris of a 15-foot retaining rock wall.
The offensive lineman for Brigham Young University's football team passed away after a horrifying accident in his hometown of Kailua, Hawaii on Friday.
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According to the Honolulu Fire Department, one person died and three others were injured after part of a 15-foot retaining rock wall behind a home collapsed at a work site.
Veikoso's family confirmed with Honolulu Star-Advertiser. that he was the one who died at the scene.
Firefighters arrived just before noon as bystanders used a mini-excavator to try to remove some of the debris in an attempt to free the victims.
However, firefighters told them to stop since the remaining wall was unstable.
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Firefighters manually removed the rocks and rescued two of the three people, but the third was trapped deeper under the partially collapsed wall.
Eventually, they were able to reach the third person, Veikoso, who they pronounced dead at the scene.
A fourth person was able to escape from the debris before firefighters responded to the accident.
Two people were taken to a hospital in serious, but stable condition, however, a third person in the same condition declined to be taken for treatment.
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Another two men had minor injuries and didn't need medical treatment, according to EMS field operations supervisor Felimon Juliano.
There was a total of six people at the work site, the outlet reported.
"We are extremely saddened to learn of the tragic death of one of our brothers, Sione Veikoso," said Cougars Head Coach Kalani Sitake.
"His passing is heartbreaking to all of us. We offer our deepest condolences and prayers to his family as we share in their grief. Our love for you is forever, Sione!"
Sitake's message was attached to a retweet of a post from the official BYU Football twitter page.
The post read: "On behalf of the entire BYU Football family, our thoughts and prayers are with Sione's family and friends during this extremely difficult time.
"Rest in Love Sione. God be with you till we meet again."
Veikoso's cousin, Joshua Kava, said that “he was a gentle giant who loved his family.
"He was reliable and caring," Kava told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.
Family members called Veikoso a "great kid" who showed "selflessness."
He helped financially support his single mother, who died seven years ago, his family told the outlet.
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Veikoso started his college football career at Arizona State.
He appeared in one game for the Sun Devils' 2021 season before he transferred to BYU this summer.
Since then, he played in one game as a redshirt freshman this season for the BYU Cougars.
This means that he was academically a sophomore, but it was his first season on the BYU team.
His family told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser that Veikoso was planning to fly back to BYU next week.
Before he was a college football star, he served a full-time mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Manaus, Brazil from 2018 to 2020.
Veikoso came from a family of college football players.
His cousin Sione Kava played defensive tackle at Oregon in 2018 and 2019, according to his BYU profile.
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Isi Sofele, another one of his cousins played running back at Cal from 2009 to 2012, the webpage states.
Veikoso is survived by his two sisters, Mele and Sanimata, and one brother who is also named Sione.
