A teenager from Canada has died after suffering injuries while celebrating the Philadelphia Eagles’ playoff victory this past weekend.
18-year-old Toronto native Tyler Sabapathy, who was a first-year student and a member of the gymnastics team at Temple University in Philadelphia, fell off a light pole at 15th and Market streets in the Center City neighbourhood, as per local station 6ABC.
Sabapathy reportedly suffered a brain injury from the fall on Sunday evening, passing away from the incident on Tuesday.
Climbing light poles has long been a common way to celebrate for Philadelphia sports fans after big victories, with much of the downtown core fully enveloped by thousands of spectators celebrating the win over the Washington Commanders in the NFC championship that sent the Eagles to this year’s Super Bowl.
“It is with deep sadness that we write to share news of the death of first-year student Tyler Sabapathy. Over the weekend, Tyler sustained critical injuries and ultimately passed away this afternoon,” the university released in a statement Tuesday night.
“The loss of a promising 18-year-old man like Tyler is both tragic and traumatic. There are no words that can make sense of it, and the entire Temple community mourns his passing. Our hearts go out to Tyler’s family, friends, classmates and all who knew and loved him.”
Sabapathy was a graduate of Toronto’s St. Michael’s College School and chose to attend Temple to pursue a degree in exercise and sports science while continuing his gymnastics career.
He was a multi-time provincial champion, having won over 120 medals in his career, according to St. Michael’s.
