Samantha Davis, Cross country runner dies after collapsing at Charlotte meet.
Samantha Davis, 17, a senior at Union Pines High School collapsed while running in Charlotte on Saturday morning, and died shortly after midnight.
The community has rallied around her family with prayers and warm memories of a girl described as kind and sweet, with an infectious smile and enthusiastic spirit for everything she undertook.
Davis, who was also a member of the Union Pines Marching Band, was running in the Hare and Hounds Invitational, a cross country event, when she suffered what may have been a seizure near the 4K mark. She was taken to Novant Presbyterian Medical Center, according to her family, where she suffered cardiac arrest.
Her parents, Jon and Rebecca Davis, own the Wild Birds Unlimited store in Southern Pines, and formerly owned the Rita’s Italian Ice franchise in Aberdeen.
In an interview in 2016, Rebecca told The Pilot that Samantha had suffered a softball-related injury earlier that same year, which resulted in seizures and a diagnosis of epilepsy. However, more recently, the teen had been seizure free.
Her family and friends flooded social media on Saturday with urgent prayer requests and updates, as the teen fought for her life.
Rita’s of Aberdeen announced Sunday morning the store will be accepting donations and donating this week’s employees tips to the Davis family.
No further information has been released at this time.
