A star high school football player in South Florida who had signed with Georgia Tech was killed Monday after he was hit by a freight train.

Bryce Gowdy, 17, died at a hospital after he was struck by a freight train in Deerfield Beach, the Broward County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.

His death was ruled a suicide by the medical examiner Tuesday.

Bryce was a standout wide receiver and defensive back for Deerfield Beach High School. One of the top-ranked high school wide receivers in the country, he was signed to play for Georgia Tech as a four-star prospect and one of the university’s top signees in recent history.

He received more than 30 scholarship offers and chose Tech in July over the likes of Oregon, Penn State, Syracuse and West Virginia.

“He was one of the leaders of the team,” Dave Brousseau, a Deerfield Beach alumnus still active with the program, told the South Florida Sun Sentinel. “He was one of the guys who, when they were getting ready pre-game, he was always getting them fired up.”

Bryce had been dealing with mental health issues and the strain of his family’s financial problems and recent homelessness, according to his mother.

He was happy for his future but he couldn’t shake the difficulty of his family’s circumstances, his mother, Shibbon Winelle, said in a Facebook Live video published Tuesday.

For more than 11 minutes in the video posted to her Facebook page on Tuesday, Ms. Winelle talked about her son’s final days. With tears rolling down her cheek, she noted how he was “talking in circles” and asking “a lot of questions about spirituality and life” while also wanting assurances that his mom and brothers would be OK once he left for college, which he was set to do next week.

Bryce is the second Georgia Tech player to die this year.

Defensive lineman Brandon Adams died in March. Atlanta police said Mr. Adams was practicing a dance routine when he collapsed suddenly. There was nothing in Mr. Adams’ autopsy to indicate foul play and no evidence to warrant a criminal investigation,

Georgia Tech honored Mr. Adams through the season by having a different player wear his number each game.

Now the Yellow Jackets have been handed another tragic loss.

“Our entire Georgia Tech football family is devastated by the news of Bryce’s passing,” Georgia Tech football head coach Geoff Collins said in a statement released by the school.

“Bryce was an outstanding young man with a very bright future. He was a great friend to many, including many of our current and incoming team members. On behalf of our coaches, players, staff and families, we offer our deepest condolences to Bryce’s mother, Shibbon, and his brothers, Brisai and Brayden, as well as the rest of his family members, his teammates and coaches at Deerfield Beach High School, and his many friends. Bryce and his family will always be a part of the Georgia Tech football family.”

Mr. Collins also tweeted,“We are heartbroken. Bryce will always be a part of our Georgia Tech Football Family. We will be praying for him and all those who love him.”

Bryce had helped lead Deerfield Beach High to 30 wins in the past three seasons, including an appearance in the state semifinals as a junior.

Bryce finished classes a semester early so he could start classes and join Georgia Tech's football team Jan. 6, the high school school said in a statement.

The Deerfield Beach football team held a candlelight vigil for him at the school’s football field Thursday night.

Bryce’s death contributes to the roughly two teens in Florida who take their lives each week. His suicide mirrors that of many teens’ who can’t weigh the future consequences of their actions, experts say.

They don’t have the same capacity to think it through the way adults do, according to Daniel Bober, a Hollywood child and adolescent psychiatrist and chief of psychiatry for Memorial Healthcare System.

“Very often in the moment, young people will do it without thinking it through," Mr. Bober said. "They feel at that moment, there is no hope and taking their life is the only way to make the pain go away.”

There’s never a single crisis or factor that leads to suicide, experts say. Bryce’s struggle with mental health likely was exacerbated by his family’s financial setbacks and housing situation, erecting a barrier to mental health counseling, Mr. Bober said.

“With children, you need to find a Medicaid provider and when you do find one, often there is a long waiting list. It could take months to be seen,” Mr. Bober said. “If there’s a mental health issue and the family is not of means, it’s very difficult to get treatment for the child.”

The toll-free National Suicide Prevention Lifeline number is 1-800-273-TALK (8255).

Miami Herald, South Florida Sun Sentinel, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and The Washington Post contributed.

First Published: January 3, 2020, 3:36 a.m.