Teen's mourners join in Beacon vigil

14-year-old died of heart failure

By Elizabeth Lynch
Poughkeepsie Journal

 

Darryl Bautista/Poughkeepsie Journal People gathered Friday night at the center of Looper's Court, a basketball court, on Route 9D in Beacon to remember 14-year-old Terrence Wright. Wright was a junior varsity basketball player and loved the game.

Courtesy photo An autopsy revealed Terrence Wright died Tuesday of heart failure.

The Beacon community remains in shock after an otherwise healthy teenager died of heart failure.

Terrence Wright, 14, a member of Beacon High School's junior varsity basketball team, died Tuesday. An autopsy determined he had sub-aortic stenosis, a narrowing of his left ventricle that caused his heart to enlarge and give out, said Dr. Louis Roh, who performed the autopsy Wednesday at St. Luke's Hospital.

''He was just one of the best kids you could ever meet. He was just a good kid who touched so many people,'' his mother, Rhonda Wright, said. ''He had a deep love of basketball, but his school came first.''

A candlelight vigil was held Friday night at Looper's Court in Beacon. A crowd of about 200 stood six and seven people deep in a circle around candles arranged to read ''TW'' and ''20,'' Wright's jersey number.

Mourners, from young children to adults, wiped away tears as family and friends of Wright spoke about him. Tom Powers, Beacon's varsity basketball coach, said athletics faculty were working toward naming a basketball tournament after Wright and initiating a scholarship in his name.

'Basketball was his love'

''It's a tragedy,'' Powers said before the ceremony. ''He was an all-American, average kid and basketball was his love.''

Wright had practiced basketball Monday. He stayed at school to watch the girl's team scrimmage. He was sitting on the bench, joking with his close friend, Mel Wade, when he fainted. He was brought to St. Luke's Hospital, where doctors thought he suffered from dehydration, family and friends said. He was released and sent home.

Tuesday, Wright seemed fine and was laughing and joking about his muscles, said his mother.

But that night, Rhonda Wright said her son called her over to look at a picture of Los Angeles Lakers basketball all-star Kobe Bryant on the computer. Then he said he felt dizzy and fell out of his chair.

''I was shaking him. He was gasping for air,'' she said. Emergency medical technicians worked on Terrence, but he could not be revived.

''He was fine and five minutes later he was gone,'' Rhonda Wright said.

Roh said Terrence Wright likely had his condition since birth and that his death was not related to his athletic activities.

''Unfortunately, this condition has no cure,'' Roh said. The only alternative is a heart transplant, he said.

Rhonda Wright said she knew her son had a heart murmur, but that he recently passed a physical required for him to play basketball. She said she didn't know he had a heart condition.

Wright played CYO basketball for St. Joachim's travel team.

''He was a beautiful boy,'' said George Weldon, a CYO coach who encouraged Wright to try out for the travel team, but never actually coached him. ''He was always a quiet boy. I could see the talent.''

Wade lived next door to Wright and the two were like brothers.

''He was a good friend, trustful,'' said Wade. He spoke with Wright Tuesday night and the two made plans to go to basketball practice together the next day and grab a bite to eat, Wade said.

Wright wanted to be a basketball player when he grew up, Wade said. But he wasn't just a one-dimensional kid. Wright liked math and he and Wade listened to music, hung out at the mall and went to movies together. Wright was always on the computer, Wade said.

''He had a lot of friends,'' Wade said. And he had lots of nicknames -- T-Biddy, Too Easy and The Franchise -- each referring to Wright and his ability on the basketball court, teammate and friend Jimmy Weldon said.

''He was a breath of fresh air,'' Weldon's mother, Margaret, said.