Tributes have poured out from around the Newcastle football community after the passing of 19-year-old West Wallsend player Jaryd Hayter a fortnight after he was injured in a workplace incident at Tomago.
Mr Hayter’s death was announced by the West Wallsend Senior Football Club through a Facebook post on Thursday morning. It was followed by tributes from a number of clubs who offered their condolences.
“Devastating news has reached us today, with the passing of our very own Jaryd Hayter, aged just 19,” the West Wallsend SFC post said.
“Right from the moment that Jaryd pulled on a blue shirt in early 2015, it has been a pleasure to watch him grow and develop as a brilliant young footballer and an even more remarkable young man.”
Mr Hayter was injured on Thursday, August 23, when he fell through a roof at a business at 24 Old Punt Road, Tomago – understood to be coating business Wet and Dry Coatings.
The apprentice electrician fell “between 40 to 50 feet” and suffered significant injuries to his feet and legs, a NSW Ambulance spokesman said at the time.
He was transported by road to John Hunter Hospital and was in a critical condition a day after the incident.
Mr Hayter is understood to have been on life support before his death.
It is unclear who Mr Hayter was working for at the time of the Tomago incident.
A spokesperson for SafeWork NSW said at the time its “initial inquiries indicate the worker was installing solar panels on the roof of the building when he fell through a skylight and landed on the ground below”.
It said on Thursday the investigation was “ongoing”.
Mr Hayter’s West Wallsend football team played in the 19 Years Northern League One grand final on Sunday, defeating Kahibah 1-0.
The club extended their “love and support” to the Hayter family in its post on Thursday and thanked the wider football community for its thoughts.
“Thank you to everyone from the Newcastle football community for getting behind Jaryd and his family over the past few weeks,” the club’s Facebook post said.
“Let's continue to love and support one another through this incredibly difficult time.”
