Pottstown Teen Dies After Shoveling Snow, Family Says

A pregnant teenager collapsed and died Saturday morning after shoveling snow from winter storm Jonas outside her home in Pottstown, Pennsylvania.

Gerloff is one of 11 people who have died after shoveling snow when this weekend’s massive snowstorms hit the east coast.

“We know she had been shoveling snow that morning with a family member”, said Capt. Robert Thomas. “At the time of her death, Briahna was suffering from Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome”. When the family member returned to Gerloff’s home, the front door was locked. Obviously anxious about his sister, Gerloff’s brother went into the house through the basement and started calling out her name. It’s unclear how long she shoveled, but she eventually went back inside and was found unresponsive on the kitchen floor.

Briahna Gerloff was 18-years-old and eight months pregnant with a girl she had already named Kayliana.

A Go Fund Me page set up for the teen says she passed away “as well as her daughter”. The family member said he and a neighbor performed CPR before an ambulance arrived.

A childhood friend told NBC10 Briahna’s mother passed away three years ago.

A candlelight vigil will be held for Briahna and Kayliana on Saturday, January 30 at 5:00 p.m. on 14 E. Second Street in Pottstown, Pennsylvania.

Briahna’s family and friends have created a GoFundMe page to help with funeral costs and alleviate financial stress. The investigation is ongoing.