Roughly $11,000 was raised for the family of Stephen Decatur High School junior Tyler Walsh Monday night, as the critically injured teen fights for his life from injuries sustained in a collision over the weekend in Ocean City.
Carter Walsh, the younger brother of critically injured teen Tyler Walsh, is hoisted up on the shoulders of the Stephen Decatur High School girls soccer team after their game on Monday.
Photo courtesy Nick Denny/ Nick Denny Photography
Steve Green, Executive Editor
About $11,000 was raised for the Walsh family at Stephen Decatur High School Monday night, as the community continues to shower love and support after 16-year-old Tyler Walsh was critically injured last Friday night in Ocean City.
“Tonight was nothing short of amazing,” the Stephen Decatur Athlete Boosters posted Tuesday morning on Facebook after the varsity girls soccer game. “Thanks to our generous community the Athletic Boosters were able to raise over $11,000 for The Walsh Family. Please continue to keep Tyler and family in your prayers.”
Tyler Walsh, a junior at Stephen Decatur who lives in Selbyville, Delaware, was walking in a marked crosswalk on 12th Street in Ocean City on Friday night around 9:30 with a group of friends when he was reportedly struck by a speeding motorcyclist, Michael Scot Schneider, 51, of Ballston Spa, New York. Walsh was flown immediately to Shock Trauma in Baltimore with life-threatening injuries.
Schneider fled the scene before he was arrested at the West Ocean City Park and Ride showing signs of impairment. Schneider is being held without bond. A blood sample was collected to determine his alcohol concentration level. As of now, Schneider faces 12 traffic offenses, including driving under the influence and failing to remain on the scene of an accident resulting in bodily injury or death.
On Monday night, hundreds turned out at Stephen Decatur High School dressed in orange, Tyler’s favorite color, to support the Seahawks in a varsity girls soccer matchup against North Caroline. Nearly every attendee – including the opposed team – sported orange in a show of solidarity behind the Walsh family.
Cory Walsh, a long-time employee of Taylor Bank, said this week he is hoping for a miracle for his son, who has sustained multiple broken bones and major head injuries.
“It’s going to take a miracle for this one,” Walsh told Coastal Point Staff Writer Susan Canfora in an interview this week. “His doctors say he’s stable, but he’s very critical and there are many more surgeries to go. He’s going to be sedated another couple of weeks. He’s a good kid. Good grades. Wrong place, wrong time. The guy on the motorcycle was running a red light, and he was going 55 mph in a 35-mph zone. I lost my wife almost two years ago. We’ve been through a lot in the past couple years.”
The family lost its matriarch, Rhonda, 40, in October of 2022 after a long, courageous battle with sarcoma cancer. Tyler has two siblings, a twin sister Emma, and Carter, a 10th grader. Both are students at Decatur and Emma played in the soccer game Monday.
“There are so many injuries,” Cory Walsh said. “They had to stabilize him, and it took a lot of time to get him stabilized and trying to slowly repair everything. His skull is open. He had a seizure, something like a stroke. His brain is swollen, and they had to open his skull to let his brain expand. As for injuries — you name it. They had to open his stomach. There are a lot of things going on.”
There are two GoFundMe pages set up for community members to support the Walsh family. One was started by Jack Brady, a close friend who was with Tyler on the night of the collision.