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Tarentum teen dies after being thrown from back of pickup

KDKA-TV

Tarentum teen dies after being thrown from back of pickup

A Tarentum high school athlete out with friends Friday night died when he fell from the back of the pickup truck in which he was standing after it took a sharp turn on a West Deer road, authorities said Saturday.

Ryan Richards, 17, a football and baseball player, was pronounced dead a short time later at 11:42 p.m. at a West Deer fire station near the scene of the accident.

There were three other people in the bed of the pickup truck and four in the cab at the time.

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"He was the only one standing up," Allegheny County police Superintendent Charles Moffatt said. "They go around a curve and he flips out of the truck."

County homicide detectives are investigating. Superintendent Moffatt said his office will confer with prosecutors to determine if any criminal charges are warranted.

But, he added, there were no signs of alcohol or drugs, and no indication that the teenager did anything but lose his footing.

The Allegheny County medical examiner's office said Ryan died from blunt force trauma to the head and ruled the death an accident.

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"They said they weren't even going fast. It was just the momentum they had. He had a high center of gravity," Ryan's brother, Dan Richards, 25, said. "You shouldn't be standing on a moving vehicle anyway."

It is illegal to ride in an open-bed truck, according to state police. Doing so also violates seat belt laws for those under age 18 and could result in a citation for the driver for endangering another person.

Such a stunt garnered publicity last fall with the release of the movie "The Perks of Being a Wallflower," which has a signature scene featuring actress Emma Watson standing in the back of a fast-moving pickup truck in the Fort Pitt Tunnel.

Mr. Richards described his brother, who was going to be a senior this fall in the Highlands School District, as not so much a daredevil as someone who liked to "have fun and be the party" -- but who sometimes "pushed it to the limit too much."

Mr. Richards said Ryan hit his head from the fall, which happened at 11:04 p.m. at Poplar Street and Saxonburg Boulevard.

Neither the police nor the family had information about where the group had been.

Mr. Richards described his brother as a good student and athlete. He pitched and played shortstop for the Highland Golden Rams and was an outside linebacker.

"He loved his baseball. He loved sports," said Mr. Richards of Zelienople. "Like every other teenager, he liked to play his video games and he liked to hang out with his friends from school. He was your average teenager. He was an honor roll student. He was a great athlete. He's the best brother I could have ever asked for."

A candlelight vigil has been planned for tonight at 8:30 in the F-wing parking lot of Highlands High School in Natrona Heights.

The Highlands School District issued a statement expressing sympathy and calling Ryan a "well-rounded student athlete" and said he would be missed.

"We are a very tight-knit community and know Ryan's passing will affect many people besides his family," school district spokeswoman Misty Chybrzynski said.

"We already had a meeting with the football team as a group with our school psychologist and administration and want to extend the same resources to the rest of our faculty, students and community."

Counselors will be available Monday at Highlands High School after 9 a.m. Those interested can call 724-226-1000.

The school is also accepting donations on behalf of the Richards family. Donations can be dropped off at the school office Monday and Tuesday from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Duster's Funeral Home in Tarentum is handling funeral arrangements. Visitation will be from 2 to 4 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday at the funeral home. A funeral Mass will be held at Holy Martyrs Church in West Tarentum at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday.

First Published: July 13, 2013, 5:00 p.m.
Updated: July 13, 2013, 11:25 p.m.

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Ryan Richards  (KDKA-TV)
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