18-year-old Cherokee County football star in ICU after falling 4 stories from Athens parking deck
An 18-year-old Canton football star is in critical condition after falling four stories off of a parking garage in Athens, according to police.
Tyler Bradwell Douthit plays football with Woodstock High School and is signed to play with Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama, in the fall, according to the Athens Banner-Herald.
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A passerby found Douthit lying across the entrance to the parking garage on West Washington Street around 2:40 a.m. Sunday morning, according to a police report.
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The witness said he was driving by the location and saw Douthit fall from the fourth story of the deck and land against the railings on the ground.
Police said Douthit was with another person shortly before the fall. Video shows a person running from the deck, according to a police report.
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Police did not give details about Douthit’s injuries. According to Lieutenant Shaun Barnett with the Athens-Clarke County police department, foul play is not currently suspected.
Douthit plays offensive tackle for Woodstock and received 21 football scholarship offers, according to recruiting website Rivals.
Last week, he was named Woodstock High Schools most outstanding senior athlete.
Cherokee County School District Superintendent of Schools Dr. Brian V. Hightower issued a statement to Channel 2 Action News, saying:
“We are devastated by the news of Tyler’s injuries. Tyler is an outstanding student athlete with a huge circle of people who care about him. He and his family are in my prayers.”
