LEESBURG, Va. — A community is mourning the loss a recent Loudoun County High School graduate after a deadly crash in Leesburg early Saturday morning.
Leesburg Police said just before 3 a.m. they received a call of a crash involving a tractor trailer and an SUV on the southbound lane of Leesburg bypass in the area of Edwards Ferry Road Northeast.
Responding officers located the two vehicles off the shoulder near a tractor supply store where friends of George Mwesigwa have set up a roadside memorial with heartfelt messages and flowers.
Mwesigwa, 18, was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital. His mother Lucy Mirembe Mwesigwa says she has received an outpouring of support from the community who describe her son in the same way she saw him, "He was unique, he was humble, he was very polite."
Friends that were with Mwesigwa during the early hours of Saturday say he was picking up orders at a nearby McDonalds because he was working as a food delivery person.
At 6 feet 5 inches tall, George was also a talented basketball player who played forward for Loudoun County High School where he graduated in June.
His mother says he had aspirations to be in the NBA, telling WUSA9 about one of his games where she realized her son's talent, "Everyone else in the room was screaming George, George, and I felt like my body was being attacked. I couldn't believe that was him I was very proud of him that day."
A GoFundMe account has been set up by George's teammates, to help his mother not only pay for the funeral expenses but to also bring George's two brothers from Egypt to Virginia to pay their final respects.
"Show us mercy and help them come in an emergency visa so they can have some closure with their brother before he lives the surface of this earth," Mirembe Mwesigwa said.
Leesburg police are still investigating the deadly crash. The driver of the tractor trailer was also taken to a hospital for minor injuries. Parents of George's friends were out at the scene Wednesday afternoon trying to piece together what happened to who they assure was a "good kid".
Anyone who witnessed the crash or who has additional relevant information is asked to contact Officer M. Hackney at 571-919-8375 or at mhackney@leesburgva.gov. If you wish to remain anonymous please call the Leesburg Crime Line at 703-443-TIPS (8477). Information can also be sent using TIPSUBMIT via text. Text 274637 (CRIMES) and begin your message with LPDTIP.