Temple student dies after falling from light pole during Eagles celebrations in Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA -- An 18-year-old man has died after he fell from a light pole during celebrations after the Philadelphia Eagles NFC Championship win this weekend.

Our Philadelphia sister station, 6ABC Action News, has learned the victim was a first-year Temple University student.

"It is with deep sadness that we write to share news of the death of first-year student Tyler Sabapathy. Over the weekend, Tyler sustained critical injuries and ultimately passed away this afternoon," the university released in a statement Tuesday night. "The loss of a promising 18-year-old man like Tyler is both tragic and traumatic. There are no words that can make sense of it, and the entire Temple community mourns his passing. Our hearts go out to Tyler's family, friends, classmates and all who knew and loved him."

The tragedy happened on Sunday night at 15th and Market streets in Center City Philadelphia.

Video shows the teen above on the street pole before he fell onto the concrete sidewalk flat on his back, hitting his head.

He was taken to Jefferson Hospital with a brain injury before he passed away.

Sabapathy was a native of Toronto, Canada. He was majoring in exercise and sport science and was a member of the university's club gymnastics team.

"As an accomplished gymnast with more than 120 medals in provincial, regional and international competitions, Tyler was fascinated with injury prevention, and this ultimately led him to pursue the major that he did. He no doubt had a bright future ahead of him, and it is so tragic that we will not be able to see how he would have made his mark on the world," the statement continued.

Grief counselors will be available for students and staff.

Philadelphia police had an internal briefing Tuesday to review Sunday's response and discuss what strategies they will use during the next possible celebration, which could be in just two weeks.

The city won't say if they greased the poles on Sunday, adding that they don't want to release public safety tactics.

Longtime fans tell us they don't know if greasing the poles is a good deterrent.

Authorities are also still investigating numerous reports of other injuries from throughout the night on Sunday, including shootings, a stabbing and assaults on police officers.

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