Kobe Thomas wanted to be like Kobe Bryant.
So much so that the 16-year-old searched YouTube videos of the retired basketball star jumping over a speeding car, which multiple media reports have concluded was fake.
Thomas’ friends told police the young basketball star in his own right wanted to try jumping over a car. He figured, friends told police, since “he was an athlete and could jump high” that he could do it, too.
The three boys tried to talk Kobe out of it, but eventually agreed to help him try it.
But what seemed like innocent fun quickly turned deadly.
Just as the car was approaching Thomas at 15 mph, he was hit in the knees with the front of the car and brought to the ground, according to a police report released Friday. His friends got out of the car to check on him and called 911.
Police arrived to the scene to the find Thomas on the ground with a pool of blood coming from his head.
He was taken to two hospitals before he later died Sunday.
It wasn’t the first time the teen attempted the stunt, according to the report. Thomas brought up the idea to friends the night before the incident.
In that attempt, he ran out of the way of the car.
The next night, Thomas tried again when the friends were headed home from a movie.
The driver “told (Thomas) several times along with the others in the (car) that this was a bad idea, but he continued and they finally agreed to let him try,” according to the police report.
Thomas stood about 20 yards away from the car before it struck him, according to the report. The teen driver told police he didn’t see Thomas in enough time to stop the car.
The teen driver, whose name has not been released, now faces vehicular homicide, reckless driving and violation of provisional license charges.
No one in the car was drunk, nor was the incident caught on tape, police said.
Services for Thomas will be held 2 p.m. Saturday at West Rome Baptist Church, according to media reports. A GoFundMe account was created to help cover funeral costs.
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