Beloved Sask. teacher and coach Kelly Kruppi dies after 6-week battle in the hospital

A beloved Balgonie, Sask., high school teacher and coach who was left paralyzed after a bizarre accident has died. 

Kelly Kruppi's wife, Erryn, shared the news in a post on Facebook Thursday night.

"For six weeks, he fought with everything he had, but in the end, his body had been through too much," she wrote. 

"Kelly was the funniest, kindest, most selfless person in any room. He lifted people up — whether as a teacher, coach, teammate, or friend—and made life better just by being in it."

The 46-year-old teacher tripped and fell headfirst into a wall during a basketball game in January, leaving him paralyzed from the neck down.

He suffered a stroke after surgery and remained unresponsive.

In his honour, Greenall High School in Balgonie — a town about 25 kilometres east of Regina — renamed its annual junior basketball tournament the Kruppi Klassic. 

A fundraiser started on the website GoFundMe for the Kruppi family had raised almost $100,000 as of Friday afternoon.

In addition to Erryn, his wife of 24 years, Kelly Kruppi leaves behind their two children, Leyton and Hanna.

Bizarre basketball injury paralyzes beloved Sask. teacher and coach

15 days ago

Duration 2:42

Kelly Kruppi, 46, a well-known teacher and coach who has helped kids in communities such as Balgonie, Southey, Craik and Montmartre, is now on the receiving end of generosity. Kruppi was paralyzed in a basketball game and has suffered further medical complications.