A New Jersey high school football player died last week as a result of an injury he suffered during a game.
On Monday, a medical examiner revealed that the cause of 17-year-old Evan Murray’s death was severe internal bleeding due to a lacerated spleen. Morris County Medical Examiner Dr. Ronald Suarez determined that Murray had an enlarged spleen which made it more susceptible to injury, according to NJ.com’s Jim Deegan.
Murray, the starting quarterback for Warren Hill Regional High School for the past three years, was injured during his team’s game on Friday night. The Associated Press reports that he took a number of hits in the first half and walked off under his own power after being tackled in the backfield during the second quarter. Murray later collapsed and told teammates he felt “woozy” after the play, but he assured them he would be fine as he was lifted on a gurney and transported to a local hospital.
“He tried giving a thumbs-up to the rest of the team, and all of us cheered,” said Kaitlin Bell, a 16-year-old cheerleader, told the AP. “Our coach was telling us he was going to be all right. We didn’t expect anything would happen.”
Murray later lost his life at Morristown Medical Center.
Our thoughts are with Murray’s family and friends and all of those who were affected by the tragedy.
