Jordan Petrocchi traveled to Miami-Dade County to attend Rolling Loud in Miami Gardens, but he never made it back home to Seneca, South Carolina.
The 23-year-old Clemson University student was set to graduate in August, but instead of planning the celebration his friends and family were asking the public to help his mother, Bethany Dawson, with his funeral arrangements.
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“My nephew Jordan passed very suddenly,” Pam Camarena wrote. “Our hearts are very heavy. He was an amazing young man.”
After learning that he had died on Sunday, Leo Santana described Petrocchi as a “good guy gone way too soon,” and other friends shared anecdotes about how he was a “class clown” who knew how to bring “joy and laughter” and a social butterfly who was “constantly singing or humming melodies” to lift others spirits.
“He was very kind, and always had positive words for me. He was one of the only people that made me feel welcome and like an equal regardless of how old I was,” Alexis Price wrote about their friendship while they were at Southern Wesleyan University.
“Whether it was lending a helping hand to a friend in need or simply brightening up the room with his laughter, Jordan had an undeniable impact on all of our lives,” Jackson Kroger wrote in a GoFundMe fundraising page that he set up to benefit Dawson.
Clemson University released a statement on Tuesday: “Jordan’s death comes as a shock to the entire Clemson Family. We are deeply saddened by this tragic loss and extend thoughts and prayers to his family and friends during this difficult time.”
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue personnel were at the Hard Rock Stadium property during the soldout hip-hop music festival attracting tens of thousands amid a heat advisory over the weekend.
There was a risk of heat stroke with the higher temperatures. The organizers of the three-day outdoor event allowed clear plastic hydration packs, empty reusable plastic water bottles, and set up water stations.
Petrocchi’s cause of death remained under investigation.
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