An Australian man celebrated in his own country and the UK for his success overcoming his disability has fallen victim to the Los Angeles wildfires, his mother has announced on X.
Shelley Sykes wrote of her sadness in confirming that her son Rory Sykes, aged 32, who previously appeared in the media as a boy talking about being born blind and living with cerebral palsy, and later worked as a motivational speaker, died at his family home in Malibu on Wednesday.
She wrote Thursday: “It is with great sadness that I have to announce the death of my beautiful son Rory Sykes to the Malibu fires yesterday.”
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She added that she was “totally heartbroken” over the loss of her “wonderful son.”
People Magazine reports that the British-born Sykes had been living in Sydney, Australia, before recently relocating to the US.
His mother wrote that Sykes was in a cottage on his family’s 17-acre Malibu estate when he died, that she was unable to put out the cinders on the roof of her son’s cottage because the water was switched off.
People reports that, amid criticism about reports of lack of water, LA officials said there was a temporary drop in water pressure and some water tanks ran dry due to “tremendous demand.”
The post Former Inspirational Speaker Dies In LA Fires, Mother Wrote She Was “Unable To Save Him Through Lack Of Water” appeared first on Deadline.
