Girl, 17, steps in front of a train two months after her friend died the exact same way

A teenager has died just two months after one of her best friends also decided to take his own life. 

17-year-old Alexis Jane Marion’s life ended on Monday after she stepped in front of a train in south Florida – the exact same way her friend Bryce Gowdy killed himself on December 30th. 

Marion was a successful student and impressive athlete who was a part of Deerfield Beach High School’s swimming team and who was planning to study law at the University of Florida. 

Marion died almost exactly two months since her friend Bryce Gowdy was killed by a freight train just hours after he announced he was committing to Georgia Tech School

But it appears her struggles with mental health got the better of her and when her friend Gowdy died, himself a promising athlete with a bright future, it sent Marion into a downward spiral.

The pair had been friends for years and even shared the same birthday.   

‘She was the best daughter that a mom could ever want to have,’ her mother Mari Middleton said to the Sun Sentinel. 

‘When Bryce passed, Alexis was already having her own struggles with feeling well,’ she said. ‘Even though we were getting her help, she just wasn’t able to rebound.’

Her father, Michael Marion, described his daughter as a kind person, an advocate for social justice and someone with a good sense of right and wrong. 

Marion was a successful student and impressive athlete who was a part of Deerfield Beach High School’s swimming team and who was planning to study law at the University of Florida

He said that her stress levels began to rise after the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in 2018 in nearby Parkland, Florida.

‘She felt as if gun laws were incredibly inadequate. That was a big thing she had her teeth in within the last couple of years.’

Her mental health hit a new low this past weekend as her parents desperately struggled to find an emergency therapist who would speak to Marion on nights and weekends. 

Ultimately, they ended up calling the Broward Sheriff’s Office out of sheer desperation on Saturday.

stress levels began to rise after the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in 2018 in nearby Parkland, Florida. (File photo of a memorial seen earlier this month) 

A deputy spoke to the teen over the phone who managed to get her laughing. 

On Sunday, things were similarly desperate once again and her mom and dad managed to get a crisis counselor on the phone who calmed her down managed to convince her to attend school on Monday.

Upon arriving at school, instead of driving to class Marion gave a bag with her belongings to a friend before driving to the same train tracks where Gowdy had died two months earlier.

Her parents did not find out about their daughter’s death until late on Monday evening.   

Her tragic death echoes that of her friend, Gowdy.  

‘Family matters, can’t wait to get to the ATL soon!’ he tweeted Monday. Coach offered condolences to Gowdy’s (third from left) mother, Shibbon, and his brothers, Brisai and Brayden, as well as the rest of his family members

On the day before his death he had tweeted a picture of himself in his Georgia Tech uniform: ‘Family matters, can’t wait to get to the ATL soon!’

By the following day, he had been fatally struck by a train in Deerfield Beach.

The teen was nervous about moving to Atlanta, according to his uncle, but his three gym bags were packed nevertheless, another relative pointed out.

Like many incoming freshman football players, Gowdy graduated from high school a semester early in order to get a jump start on his freshman year of college.

Gowdy, who received a full scholarship from Georgia Tech, had a rough upbringing as his family battled financial struggles, his uncle said. 

‘He was a little stressed having the weight of the world on his shoulders by going [to a Division I school], and having to leave his two younger brothers and his family in an unstable environment,’ his uncle, Thomas Gowdy told the Sun-Sentinel. 

Gowdy was hit by a train in Florida 4am Monday. He was set to start school at GT on January 6. His uncle said he ‘was a little stressed having the weight of the world on his shoulders by going [to a Division I school]’

‘As much as he’s dealt with, to get a full ride — that’s unbelievable for where he’s from.

‘People from the urban environment don’t normally make it like he did.’ 

The family started a GoFundMe page for funeral costs and services which has since  raised $124,000. 

Gowdy was a wide receiver and defensive back who helped his Deerfield Beach High School team reach the state semifinals last year.

Gowdy told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that joining Georgia Tech was a ‘dream come true’ when he visited in May. 

‘Bryce was an outstanding young man with a very bright future,’ Coach Geoff Collins posted

Yellow Jackets coach Geoff Collins said the entire Georgia Tech football family was devastated by the news of his passing. 

‘Bryce was an outstanding young man with a very bright future,’ Collins posted on Twitter. ‘He was a great friend to many, including many of our current and incoming team members. 

‘On behalf of our coaches, players, staff and families, we offer our deepest condolences to Bryce’s mother, Shibbon, and his brothers, Brisai and Brayden, as well as the rest of his family members, his teammates and coaches at Deerfield Beach High School, and his many friends. 

‘Bryce and his family will always be a part of the Georgia Tech football family.’   

‘This is just tragic that this has happened,’ his uncle, Thomas Gowdy told the Sun-Sentinel . ‘He said he was gonna be famous. He wanted to be famous’. Pictured with his mother (right)

‘He was one of the leaders of the team,’ Dave Brousseau, a Deerfield Beach alumnus still active with the program, told the South Florida Sun Sentinel. ‘He was one of the guys who, when they were getting ready pre-game, he was always getting them fired up.’ 

‘This is just tragic that this has happened,’ his uncle, Thomas Gowdy told the Sun-Sentinel. ‘He said he was gonna be famous. He wanted to be famous.’  

‘He was one of the leaders of the team,’ Dave Brousseau, a Deerfield Beach alumnus still active with the program, told the South Florida Sun Sentinel. ‘He was one of the guys who, when they were getting ready pre-game, he was always getting them fired up.’ 

‘He was one of the leaders of the team,’ Dave Brousseau, a Deerfield Beach alumnus still active with the program, said

If you or anyone you know needs to talk, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is available 24/7 at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).