Evan Murray, a 17-year-old high school football player, died from internal bleeding due to a lacerated spleen, according to an autopsy.
“The autopsy determined that the cause of death was massive intra-abdominal hemorrhage due to a laceration of the spleen,” read a statement from the Morris County Medical Examiner’s office on Monday. “During the examination, Dr [Ronald] Suarez determined that the spleen was abnormally enlarged thus making it more susceptible to injury.”
Murray’s family thanked the public for their support. “There are no words to express how touched we are by the overwhelming outpouring of love and support from not only our local community but from people across the country,” the Murray family said in a statement to ABC News. “We thank you so much for keeping us in your thoughts during this unimaginable time.”
Murray had been the starting quarterback for Warren Hills Regional High School in New Jersey for three years. Murray said he felt “woozy” after taking a hit and leaving the game on Friday night but was able to speak to team-mates as he left for hospital.
“He tried giving a thumbs-up to the rest of the team, and all of us cheered,” said Kaitlin Bell, a junior varsity cheerleader at the school. “Our coach was telling us he was going to be all right. We didn’t expect anything would happen.”
The New York Jets and New Jersey governor Chris Christie were among those to offer their condolences to the Murray family.
