Students and staff at Margaret R. Brown Elementary School in Seymour are mourning the loss of one of their own this week.

A 9-year-old boy died Wednesday at an Indianapolis hospital from injuries he received when a rigged metal soccer goal tipped over and struck him in the head, police said.

Police and school officials have not released the boy’s name.

Police were dispatched at 8:36 p.m. Saturday to a report of an injured person on Miller Lane. But due to a language barrier, the address was incorrect, said Sgt. Mike Cooper with the Seymour Police Department.

“They gave us an address on Miller Lane when the actual incident happened at 315 Mill St.,” Cooper said.

The Mill Street address is a recreation center owned by Apostolic Tabernacle and is located just northwest across the street from the police station.

Cooper said the initial report was a child was “under a tire.”

“We didn’t know what under a tire meant, if it was in a playground under a tire or what,” he said.

After turning around and heading to Mill Street, Cooper said he noticed several people around a van in the parking lot south of Sunset Place apartments on Indianapolis Avenue.

“I got out and started going up there, and I noticed a couple of individuals standing around had blood on them,” Cooper said.

He was directed to the back of the van, where he noticed a woman.

“I shined my light in, and there was a small child kind of across her lap, and he was covered in a very large amount of blood,” Cooper said.

He tried to get information on what had happened and where the blood was coming from.

“The only information I could get at the time was that he fell or something fell on him,” Cooper said. “It was hard to get information. There was some broken English going on, and it was chaotic.”

Cooper then went to the other side of the van to get a better look but still wasn’t able to determine where the blood was coming from, he said.

When the ambulance arrived, Cooper grabbed the child and met them. The boy was transported to Schneck Medical Center in Seymour and later airlifted to Riley Hospital for Children at Indiana University Health in Indianapolis, where he later died.

What police were able to determine from witnesses was the boy had been hanging on a soccer goal made of heavy metal tubing.

“The base of the soccer goal wasn’t very wide, so it tipped, and we were able to determine the soccer goal got him on the back of the head,” Cooper said.

Since the goal was fairly heavy, Cooper said there was a lot of force when it fell and struck the boy.

Cooper called the incident a “freak accident.”

He spoke with the person in charge of the recreation center Wednesday and made them remove the goals, suggesting they replace them with something more lightweight.

“It’s my understanding that it wasn’t the first time that one of those has tipped over. It’s just that nobody was hurt before,” Cooper said.

Brown Principal Tony Hack notified families of the boy’s death in a letter sent home with students Wednesday.

Hack said dealing with the loss of a student is the most difficult challenge a principal faces.

Students will have many emotions, concerns and questions, he added.

Seymour Community School Corp. has a crisis intervention team made up of professionals trained to help with the needs of students, parents and school personnel at difficult times.

“We have counselors and social workers available for any student or staff member who may need or want help or any type of assistance surrounding this loss,” Hack said.

Parents are encouraged to contact the school if they have questions or concerns about their children.

“We are saddened by the loss to our school community and will make every effort to help our families,” Hack said.