A 24-year-old man believed to be the nephew of musician Bootsy Collins died on Wednesday after an untreated tooth infection spread to his brain, doctors at University Hospital in Cincinnati said.

Patti Collins, wife of the local musician, told News 5 that she couldn't believe what happened to her nephew Kyle Willis. He died leaving a 6-year-old daughter.

Family members said Willis complained about having a wisdom tooth ache about two weeks earlier. A dentist reportedly told Willis to have the tooth pulled but he ignored the pain, according to reports.

Patti Collins said Willis was out of work and didn't have health insurance.

Willis eventually started getting headaches and his face began to swell.

That's when he went to the emergency room.

The (doctors) gave him antibiotic and pain medication, Patti Collins said. But he couldn't afford to pay for the antibiotic, so he chose the pain meds, which was not what he needed.

Doctors had told Willis' family that though the pain had stopped, the infection kept spreading and attacked his brain, causing it to swell.

He should have gone to the dentist to take care of the toothache, and it wouldn't have escalated to this, Patti Collins said. It's a lesson learned by all.

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