An 8-year-old boy died in a freak accident, but his family says someone received his heart in a transplant

• An 8-year-old Kentucky boy died after a basketball goal fell onto his chest, WKYT reported.
• Eli Hill, 8, died from blunt-force trauma to his chest, a coroner told the outlet.
• Eli's mom told the station he had a "golden heart" that someone got in a transplant after his death.

An eight-year-old boy in Kentucky died in a freak accident on Monday when a basketball goal backboard fell onto his chest, crushing him to death. His mom said another person received his heart in a transplant after his death.

A coroner in Corbin, Kentucky, told WKYT that Eli Hill, 8, died from blunt-force trauma to his chest. He was transported to the University of Kentucky hospital where he was pronounced dead, the station reported.

The Corbin Police Department did not immediately return Insider's request for comment on Wednesday.

Hill's parents, Eli and Ashley Hill, told WKYT that they wanted to share their story because they wanted to let people know to tell their children they love them and take them to church.

"Eli was only eight. But in his eight years, he has shined his light so bright," Ashley Hill told the outlet. "We're just so proud of him. We are just so proud of the legacy he's left behind."

She told WKYT that Eli "just wanted to play."

"He waited for his dad to come home every night at 6:30 so that he could get him into a game of basketball or they would make up games and play them," Hill told the station.

—LEX 18 News (@LEX18News) March 21, 2023

Ashley Hill told WKYT they donated Eli's organs.

"We know that our most devastated moment is somebody else's answered prayer. Somebody got a call this morning or last night that there was a heart for them," Hill told the outlet. "And listen, they got the best heart. It was a golden heart. It is a golden heart."

Parents often have to decide quickly whether they will donate their child's organs if a child dies unexpectedly. Thoracic organs, such as the lungs and the heart, are only viable for transplant to another person within six hours after they are removed from the body, according to Donor Alliance.

"We are just so proud that somebody else has his heart," his mom told WKYT. "And we hope that a little bit of him is carried with them."