A Woodstock High School football star is recovering after falling four stories off an Athens parking deck, the family announced Friday.
Tyler Bradwell Douthit, 18, an offensive tackle who recently signed a scholarship with Samford University, was found by officers lying at the bottom of the stairs near the entrance to the Washington Street parking garage Sunday, an incident report obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution states. The extent of Douthit’s injuries were not disclosed.
“Less than one week ago our world was turned upside down,” his mother, Melissa Douthit, said on social media. “Today, our family is blessed beyond measure to share that Tyler is home and is expected to make a complete recovery.”
The incident happened shortly before 3 a.m. and Athens-Clarke County police said foul play is not suspected.
A witness told officers that he saw Douthit fall from the fourth floor of the deck and land against the stair railing. Officers said they drove around the area and did not “locate anyone who saw anything or anything that looked out of the ordinary.”
Douthit was with another person inside the garage just before the fall, a security guard told police. Surveillance footage caught a person running from the deck around the time of the fall but did not show the actual fall, according to the report. Authorities have not said if that person was tied to the incident.
“We also know this miracle would not be possible if it were not for the quick actions of the first responders, trauma team at Piedmont Athens Regional and the witness who saw the accident and stayed with Tyler until help arrived. We will be eternally indebted to each of you,” Melissa Douthit said.
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