by Frank Platko ’18

The Quince Orchard community is mourning the loss of senior Tyler Terry, who passed away days ago after being on life support for nearly two weeks.

On Monday, January 29, police and paramedics arrived to a basketball court just blocks away from Quince Orchard High School to find Terry collapsed on the ground, in cardiac arrest, He was quickly taken to Shady Grove Hospital and then flown to Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, D.C.

Terry suffered heart arrhythmia, also known as an irregular beating of the heart. After being transferred to Children’s Medical, doctors learned that Terry had an undisclosed pre-existing medical condition. He succumbed to his condition on Sunday, February 11.

Terry’s death is currently under police investigation because moments before collapsing, it was discovered that Terry was involved in a fight between two groups on the same basketball court.

According to the Washington Post, Terry and three friends were fighting another group of kids. After approximately three minutes of fighting, Terry walked away from his opponent, appearing tired.

As the other fights took place, Terry collapsed on the ground and became unconscious. Police say that the altercation between Terry and the opposing individual, “involved minimal physical contact”. No criminal charges have been placed.

Terry was a successful athlete. He played Outside Linebacker and Tight End for the Quince Orchard football team for all four years of high school. In his two seasons on varsity, Terry racked up 80 total tackles, 13 tackles for loss, and 5 sacks. He helped lead the team to a 12-2 record this past season.

He also played on the basketball team for three seasons. In December, he signed a letter of intent to continue playing football at Monmouth University on a scholarship.