High School Football Player Dies: Evan Murray’s Cause Of Death Revealed, Did He Have An Underlying Health Issue?

Evan Murray, a 17-year-old quarterback for Warren Hills Regional High School, died from a hit he sustained during a football game against Summit High School. The Morris County Coroner’s Office released their findings in the autopsy report for Evan Murray.

“The autopsy determined that the cause of death was massive intra-abdominal hemorrhage (massive internal bleeding) due to a laceration of the spleen. There was no evidence of head trauma or heart disease. The manner of death was accidental.”

The autopsy report also stated that Murray’s spleen was “abnormally enlarged thus making it more susceptible to injury.”

Late in the second quarter of the football game, Evan Murray took a hard hit in the backfield. Murray did not need assistance coming off the field. He was helped off the field with some help from his teammates. Oscar Vega commented on the tragic incident.

“The last play before the half, he got hit and we helped him to the sideline.”

Shortly after he left the field, Evan Murray collapsed. The collapse prompted EMS to transport Evan to the nearest hospital. While he was being placed on the cot, Evan gave a thumbs up to let his teammates, family, and friends know that he was going to be OK. The ambulance took Evan to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead later that night.

Teammates of Evan Murray were not sure if it was the last hit Evan took that directly led to his death. It was reported that Evan took quite a few hard hits during the first half of the football game. Some of the hits that Evan took were so hard that Murray was slow to get up after some of them.

A memorial was held on Saturday for Evan Murray at the Warren Hills Regional High School’s football field. In attendance at the memorial were members of the community, school coaches, students, family, and teammates. Evan’s girlfriend wrote a heart-wrenching letter for the memorial.

“Thank you for being the love of my life.”

Football was not the only sport that Evan Murray excelled at. Evan’s baseball coach, Mike Quinto, had nothing but kind words to say about Evan.

“Evan was a great leader. He was a class act kid. The young gentleman that he was. Not just an athlete, but the person that he was, it was more important than the athlete he was. He carried himself well everywhere he went. That’s the key thing about him.”

Interim superintendent, Gary R. Bowen, made it clear that grief counselors would be available to Evan’s teammates and other students at Warren Hills Regional High School for as long as they needed. Bowen also thanked the community for all the support that they have given during this tragic accident.

“We are deeply saddened and sincerely appreciate the support and caring of our close-knit greater Warren Hills community.”

Evan Murray’s friend, Taylor Coughlin, took it upon herself to set up a GoFundMe page for Evan’s family. Currently, the page has raised over $52,000, surpassing the goal set of $50,000.

“This money is ALL going to the Murray family to pay for funeral costs, a stone, medical bills, etc… On top of Evans passing, a family member is fighting a battle with cancer and we hope to also cover their medical bills as well. Thank you to everyone who has donated.”

The family of Evan Murray broke their silence and gave a statement to ABC News.

“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. We thank you so much for keeping us in your thoughts during this unimaginable time.”

Evan Murray will be remembered.

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