Daniel McCauley, Palm Beach Central High School student, dies after wreck near Okeeheelee Park

WEST PALM BEACH — A 17-year-old varsity football player and wrestler was killed in a car wreck near Okeeheelee Park this morning.

Daniel McCauley, a junior at Palm Beach Central High School, died at Delray Medical Center where he was transported by Trauma Hawk this morning.

McCauley, of Wellington, was driving a beige Jeep Wrangler, in suburban West Palm Beach, eastbound near the entrance to the park on Forest Hill Boulevard around 8:30 a.m., said Palm Beach County Fire Rescue spokesman Capt. Don DeLucia.

The teen lost control, left the roadway and struck a pole, said Palm Beach County Sheriff's spokesman Eric Davis.

McCauley was a linebacker for the school's varsity football team and a varsity wrestler.

Palm Beach Central head football coach Rod Harris said grief counselors are at the school today and the football team will be meeting after school.

"We lost a family member. That's first and foremost. We have to talk about the fun times we had with the kids and remember that. There are a lot of grieving kids. Teenagers are emotional," Harris said before pausing. "We're all emotional. We have to make sure they're OK first."

Harris said McCauley was a "great kid" who did well in school and was "always happy, always smiling."

"There's no good thing to say. It was his time. God thought it was his time," Harris said.

McCauley's older brother, David, was a previous captain of the football team and graduated from the school in 2010.

The brothers also played in the Western Communities Football League where their father was a coach.

Gabriel Terry, who recently signed with the Miami Hurricanes and was a state champion wrestler this year, was good friends with McCauley.

Terry wrote on his Facebook page that McCauley was his wrestling partner and said he "wouldn't be a champion wrestler without Danny."

"You are a champion at life," he wrote.