A Canberra high school student killed in a tragic accident on a nature reserve on the edge of the city this week was "a lovely young man" who had his whole life ahead of him. He had just got his P plate licence but never got to drive with it. He was due to have his braces removed on Monday.
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Seventeen-year-old Adriaan Roodt was in year 10 at Campbell High School but lived in Yass, north-west of Canberra.
The teenager was in a school physical education class at Mount Ainslie, when the accident occurred in the late morning. No details have been released but it is thought to have involved a log. The boy was taken to hospital but died soon after.
Adriaan's family have asked for privacy but did allow their son's boxing trainer, Spider, to speak on their behalf and to release his name.
"He was a lovely young man. Very calm, gentle," Spider said.
"I'm Hitler [in the gym] so he was very obedient. He wasn't a boxer, he'd never [competed] in the ring but he came to me to get himself fit."
Spider said Adriaan's dad Chris was an electrician and former boxer, originally from South Africa. It's understood Adriaan had a sister.
His father had received his son's P plate driver's licence in the post on Thursday. It came to him after his son had been pronounced dead. Adriaan tragically missed another teenage milestone, having his braces removed on Monday.
Spider said Adriaan had been training at Robbo's Gym in Yass and then at Spider's home gym for about 18 months. They were always focused on the training rather than small talk.
"He came and trained with me a couple of times a week and they get in there and it's all about trying to train their mind and to do that, you have to tire them out a bit,'' Spider said.
"He certainly was very good for a kid who'd never fought before and he could have stepped into the ring if he wanted.
"He was a good kid and a good person. Just taken way too soon.''
There had been shock and sadness in Yass in response to the young man's death.
"Another young lady I train has just sent me a message to say how sorry she was. It's just such a shame,'' Spider said.
The school's social was cancelled on Thursday night after the accident. While some students stayed away, school resumed on Friday in a subdued mood with students filing in amid a media presence.
On Friday morning, Education Minister Yvette Berry cried as she spoke of the "terrible accident" during a radio interview.
Ms Berry later told reporters that police, WorkSafe and the education and environment directorates were involved in the investigation into the incident.
She was unable to say whether a teacher was present when Adriaan was injured, nor whether first aid was administered, citing the investigation and the family's request for privacy.
She said the school participated in activity regularly on the mountain, but was unclear on whether that would be suspended in the wake of the incident.
"The advice that I have was that this was just a terrible accident," Ms Berry said.
Asked if there was broader safety concerns about the Mount Ainslie trails, Ms Berry said, “No I don’t think so. As I said we’re not the bush capital for nothing. We’ve got some fantastic outdoor areas and we encourage our community to enjoy and participate in it."
An Environment Directorate spokesman said the trails had fully re-opened since the incident.
"ACT Parks and Conservation has inspected the general area, including the trails, and there are no safety issues," he said.
Ms Berry said she had spoken on Friday morning to Adriaan's family, who were "understandably very upset".
The minister said she was notified about the accident shortly after it occurred on Thursday morning, and the education directorate was "very firmly in place" at Campbell High to help support the students and teachers distressed by the young man's death.
"Yes there’ll be processes in place about how this incident occurred, but of course we want to encourage children to have outdoor activity, it’s important as part of their education as part of life to be outside and enjoy our great outdoors, so we don’t want to discourage that but this circumstance has led to the passing of a young man and we’re all feeling very sad about that at the moment and indeed the whole community is and we’ll just support the school and the family as much as we can," Ms Berry said.
