Ross Grantham: Manawatu Area Commander Inspector on the case where a teenager died after a run it straight-style game

Police have revealed more about the death of a teenager, after a combative run it straight-style game with friends on Sunday. 

It involves people running fill tilt into each other, with no protective gear.

The 19-year-old died in hospital yesterday, and our newsroom's been told he's Ryan Satterthwaite.

Manawatu Area Commander Inspector, Ross Grantham, has outlined more details.

"I understand he hasn't banged his head into anything...it's the action of his head that has caused the injury."

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
A new Plymouth teenager or Pariston North teenager has died
after playing a run at straight style tackle game with
his friends. Nineteen year old Ryan Satarthwait suffered major head
draw mobs taken to hospital. He died there overnight. Ross
Grantham is the Monowitsu area commander and with us now, Hey,
Ross Hell, Heather exactly what happened.

Speaker 2 (00:21):
Yes, a group of mates have got together and they've
decided that they all participate in this tackle game. It
wasn't an organized event, it was something just to social
between the mates and tragically, this young man has suffered
a horrible injury which has taken his life.

Speaker 1 (00:37):
Banged us head into what.

Speaker 2 (00:42):
So he hasn't banged his head as I understand it.
He hasn't banged us head into anything as his friend
has tackled him. It's the action office his head has
caused the injury, so he hasn't banged U hidden that
just that snapping of that when you think about it,
is that when you think about it, is the gable
risk young people take when they participate in these types

(01:04):
of games.

Speaker 1 (01:05):
ROSSI, you're saying, it's just the whiplash action of being
tackled has caused it.

Speaker 2 (01:09):
I'm not a doctor here, so I can't comment on that.
What I can say is that he hasn't collided anything
with anything solid. It's the movement of his head.

Speaker 1 (01:18):
Any charges here, I mean, I'm loath to raise that
because it is just mad.

Speaker 2 (01:22):
Absolutely not. This is a devastating Trevor tragedy for the
family of young Ryan and for his colleagues and his mates.
We are only involved because we're investigating on behalf of
the corner. There's no criminal element to this at all.

Speaker 1 (01:38):
Yeah, listen, what do we do to discourage I mean,
like Ross, We've been talking about this for weeks now
and how stupid this thing is and how nobody should
be doing it, and yet it's claim to life. So
what do we do to discourage kids from doing this?

Speaker 2 (01:50):
Oh? Here? If I had that answer, I'd be able
to save a whole of young men's lives, not only
in this type of thing, but in driving cars. And
that sadly, our young men don't tend to make good decisions.
We can keep talking about it, trying to educate them,
use this tragic event of young Ryan's as an example
to you mean, to let you think about what you

(02:11):
look at on social media. There's a whole lot of
dangerous things that people purport to be genuine and to
be fun and they're not, and they you just have
to be very careful when you're making the choices about
what you're going to do.

Speaker 1 (02:26):
Yeah, totally, Ross, thank you as always appreciate you time.
That's inspect to Ross Grantham one Umber two area commander
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