A former MLB prospect died in a tragic accident at a church

Brian Kirby, a former Major League Baseball prospect who went on to work in the heating and air conditioning industry, died April 15 in what officials are calling a tragic accident at a North Little Rock, Arkansas church, PEOPLE reports. He was 46. Pulaski County Sheriff’s deputies responded to Graves Memorial Baptist Church at approximately 11:20 a.m., according to the Christian Post. Deputies used a drone to locate Kirby’s unresponsive body on the roof near two air conditioning units. Kirby was an employee of Kirby Heating and Air and was performing maintenance on the building’s HVAC system at the time of his death. “Tragically, he lost his life,” the church said in a Facebook statement. “He was a highly skilled and experienced HVAC technician, and his loss is deeply felt.” The church canceled services that evening following the incident. Kirby’s athletic career began in 1997 when the Cincinnati Reds selected him in the MLB June Amateur Draft, PEOPLE noted. The Cleveland Guardians, formerly the Indians, drafted him again in 2001, and he played for various minor league and independent league teams through 2005. “There are things of this world that I will just never understand,” his cousin, Allison Avra Guerin, wrote in a social media tribute. “It truly breaks my heart to its core.” Guerin remembered Kirby as “one of the good ones.” Kirby is survived by his wife, Jennifer, and their two daughters. The Pulaski County Sheriff’s Office is conducting a death investigation and has declined further comment, according to PEOPLE. A celebration of life is scheduled for April 22.