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Emily Gold, contestant on “America’s Got Talent,” in a GoFundMe photo.
Dancer at Los Osos High School and America’s Got Talent 17-year-old contestant Emily Gold has died.
On Friday, Sept. 13, Gold was found dead at 11:52 p.m.; he had committed suicide, the San Bernardino Coroner’s Office confirmed to PEOPLE.
In a statement provided to PEOPLE, California Highway Patrol spokesman Rodrigo Jimenez said that “officers from the Rancho Cucamonga area of the California Highway Patrol responded to a pedestrian who had fallen on the roadway.”
“When officers arrived, they found a 17-year-old female who had been struck by at least one other vehicle in the carpool lane of 210 eastbound,” Jimenez said. “The woman succumbed to her injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene.”
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Police have asked anyone who witnessed the incident or has additional information to contact their investigator, Officer S. Gonzalez.
PEOPLE has contacted Rancho Cucamonga police and officials from America’s Got Talent and Los Osos High School for comment.
Just last month, the Southern California teenager and the Los Osos High School dance team thrilled the nation America’s Got Talent. After making it through the auditions, the group reached the quarterfinals of the series before being eliminated in August.
Despite their elimination, judge Simon Cowell acknowledged the team’s energetic performance with a standing ovation.
“It was absolutely brilliant,” Cowell said at the time. “What I loved about it was the energy. I think what I’ve just seen is everything a great school should do, which is nurture talent and friendship.”
Cowell continued: “It reminded me of the High School Musical film and think that every child should go to a school like this.”