Steelers invite Plum youth football players to training camp after losing teammate in house explosion
LATROBE, Pa. (KDKA) -- The Steelers invited Plum youth football players to training camp on Thursday after their teammate, 12-year-old Keegan Clontz, was killed when a house exploded over the weekend.
The explosion and fire in the Rustic Ridge neighborhood killed six people and rattled the community.
Keegan Clontz would have been starting junior high school and playing for the Plum Mustangs youth team.
Plum youth football players get a chance for distraction today after a very tough week. The team is the guest of the #Steelers at training camp. 12 y/o Keegan Clontz, who was killed along with his father & four others in a house explosion Sunday, played football for Plum. @KDKA pic.twitter.com/2QKH1p8oQS
— Ian Smith (@ismithKDKA) August 17, 2023
The program is grieving after the sudden loss, and on Wednesday, they honored him during practice by hanging his jersey on the goalpost and putting his initials on the field.
Keegan was killed along with his father, 38-year-old Casey Clontz. The medical examiner said 51-year-old Heather Oravitz, 55-year-old Kevin Sebunia and 57-year-old Michael Thomas were also killed, and a sixth victim, 56-year-old Paul Oravitz, died in at the hospital on Wednesday.
The cause of the blast is unknown. Allegheny County officials said that the investigation could take months or even years.