Luke Durst, a ninth-grader and soccer player at Cardinal Mooney High School, died this week after being critically injured in an ATV crash in Youngstown on Sunday, September 27. His family made the decision to take him off life support Tuesday night at UH Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital in Cleveland, and doctors say his organ donation is expected to save six lives.
A Hero Walk Through Hospital Halls
According to WFMJ, Durst had been on life support since Sunday before his family made the wrenching decision to let him go two days later. He was then wheeled into the operating room so his organs could be donated, the station reports, and hundreds of hospital staff, family members and supporters lined the halls for what WFMJ describes as a hero walk in his honor.
UH Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital said the donation would save six lives, per the same station's report. Durst was a member of Cardinal Mooney's soccer team, and, according to a profile on MaxPreps, he had recently been added to the school's 2026 roster.
School Reshuffles Its Calendar
Cardinal Mooney canceled its soccer game that had been scheduled for Tuesday, the station's report notes, as the school community absorbed the news. The school also postponed two other major events on its calendar: its Homecoming dance, originally set for the weekend, has been moved to October 17, and Prospective Parent Night has been rescheduled to October 21, according to Cleveland.com.
In a statement, Cardinal Mooney asked the community to pray for Durst and for those who love him, and the school expressed gratitude for the prayers, compassion and support it received during what it called a difficult time.
Part of a Painful Pattern
Durst's death adds to a string of ATV-related tragedies involving young people reported elsewhere this year. A 17-year-old was killed in a single-vehicle ATV crash in Milton Township in late June, according to responding troopers cited by WSAZ, and an Oak Glen High School student died from injuries sustained in an ATV accident in late August, Hancock County Schools said in a statement reported by WTRF. Separately, loved ones told Cleveland19 that a 15-year-old Texas teen died after crashing an ATV while riding with friends over the weekend and was expected to become an organ donor as well.
The exact circumstances of Durst's crash, including where it happened and what led to it, have not been detailed publicly. No investigating agency has released a crash report or findings in the case. Cardinal Mooney's community, for now, is focused on grieving a freshman remembered as a soccer player whose final act helped save six other lives.
