City of Tatum holds prayer vigil for student who died on Friday

TATUM, Texas (KLTV) - An East Texas city is mourning a high school student.

17-year-old Braden Mimbs died Friday in a car crash.

Today, the city of Tatum held a prayer vigil for Braden, whose coach says was “destined for greatness.”

Mimbs, a rising start on the football team, died as the result of injuries from an incident with a car.

“One of the questions that bothers you in life is ‘why?’” says Tatum football coach Whitney Keeling.

Keeling says Mimbs was the kind of kid everyone wants on their team.

“Braden was a special human being, special football player. There’s some kids that have issues that you have to battle through, but Braden wasn’t one of those. Braden was a guy that loved his craft, he would ask for extra work. Those guys are few and far between,” the coach said.

Through tears and prayers, classmates, family and Tatum residents tried to come to grips with the loss.

“When we’re all young, we think we’re going to life forever, and that’s not guaranteed to any of us. This is a tragic example of that,” said one speaker at the vigil.

For Keeling, the lingering thought of what Braden would have gone on to do with his life.

“What could Braden have been? I think he could have been anything he wanted. Braden loved football and I think he definitely wanted to play college football. Would that have happened? He was great in the classroom, he might have become a doctor for all we know. The memories are all that you have left,” Whitney says.

Coach Keeling has dedicated the 2023 Tatum high school football season to Braden Mimbs memory.

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