LEBANON, Ill. – An investigation is underway after a McKendree University student was found dead in Lebanon on Jan. 19.
Kirk Jackson Jr., 19, was found unconscious and not breathing in a yard in the 100 block of Perryman around 8 a.m. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
The St. Clair County Coroner and Illinois State Police are assisting in the investigation.
According to the St. Clair County Coroner, Jackson died from hypothermia. The coroner also said the alcohol in Jackson’s system was over twice the legal limit to drive.
If you didn’t know Kirk Jackson, Jr., his coach said, "you were missing out."
At 6 feet 7 inches tall, he had a towering presence, but a quiet one.
"Sometimes he didn't say but three words, but the fact that you hug at the end, you smile, his reaction to you sometimes that speaks a lot louder than words do,” Coach Nickie Sanlin said.
Sanlin knew him beyond volleyball.
"You don’t just recruit the athlete, you recruit the person and the family, and I had to have that in my program,” she said. "I saw a young man blossom right before my eyes."
Kirk should have turned 20 Tuesday. But early Saturday morning, in an off-campus apartment complex, police found him dead outside, on the lawn. They're still trying to figure out how he died.
"Sometimes these things happen and you can't explain them, and we're just finding a way to cope, and we're coping together,” Sanlin said.
And together, they're learning from Kirk.
"Don't underestimate the quiet people. Don't judge them. Don't overlook them. Don't think that it's a nonchalant attitude. They have feelings, and they love you just as much as you love them, they just show it in a different way,” she said.
Statement from McKendree University
We are a family at McKendree, and we mourn the loss of one of our family members on this day. Please keep the family and friends of McKendree men's volleyball redshirt freshman Kirk Jackson in your thoughts and prayers. Rest in Peace, Kirk.