Mother dies after stepping onto ant hill in Gwinnett County

LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. — A Gwinnett County community is rallying behind a teen who lost his mother after she died from an allergic reaction to fire ant bites.

If Cathy Weed’s son was on the field for the Mountain View High School Bears baseball team, she usually wasn’t too far away - cheering him on at every step.

Coach Jason Johnson says Weed’s son is a rising sophomore on the baseball team and he’s getting all of their love and support after her tragic death over the weekend.

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“The first inclination was, ‘What can we do to help?’” Johnson said. “They’ve done so much for other people, they’ve treated other people the right way. What can we do to help them and to take care of them?”

Her family says she had a severe allergy to fire ants.

The Medical Examiner’s Office is investigating the official cause of death.

On Saturday, her family says she stepped on an ant pile at her Lawrenceville home and her reaction was so strong that she died before she could get to her medicine.

The Mountain View community came together over the weekend for a tribute to Cathy on the baseball field.

They’ve also raised over $8,200 for her family in a matter of days and set up a Meal Train to help support her family.

“We won’t ever let him forget her,” Zuhera Waite, a friend and fellow baseball mom said. “Cathy always had a smile on her face. She was always just so cheerful, always cheering every boy on the team, not just her son.

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