West Virginia University student dies 10 years after being severely beaten by two men and getting permanent brain damage
A former West Virginia University (WVU) student who was beaten into a coma and left with permanent brain damage nearly a decade ago has died.
Ryan Diviney was brutally attacked and kicked in the head in November 2009 when he was a sophomore at WVU. The incident, which took place just off campus in Morgantown, West Virginia, left the standout athlete with extensive brain damage and he fell into a coma right after. Unfortunately, he never came out of it and remained in a "vegetative state" for the past decade, local outlet Metro News reports.
In hopes that modern medicine would someday improve his life, the Divineys worked hard to rehabilitate and maintain his body.
The 29-year-old, from Ashburn, Virginia, was struggling to breathe on August 31 while out on vacation with his family. Despite being immediately rushed to a nearby hospital, he was pronounced dead shortly after.
Facebook page 'Ryan's Rally We Got This', which provided regular updates about his condition and the assault case, announced the tragic death on September 1. "This was a post I never wanted to write. It is with great sadness I must inform you all that Ryan Diviney has succumbed to his injuries. It was sudden and unexpected," Diviney's friend Katie Mesmer wrote.
"The Diviney family is going through waves of unimaginable sadness, anger, and appreciation," the post continued. "Their sadness will be coped with over time and their anger will be directed where it is appropriate. Mostly, the Divineys appreciate what everyone has done for Ryan over the past 10 years. Without you all, Ryan would have never received the comfort and care, nor lived as long after the attacked as he did. They are sincerely grateful."
"In true Ryan Diviney fashion, he wanted to donate organs to help save others lives," Mesmer added.
Ken Diviney, his father, informed Metro News about the demise on September 2. "Please let the people of West Virginia know how deeply our family appreciates everything they did for my family, and Ryan specifically," the heartbroken father wrote. "We are sincerely and eternally grateful. We love them. Let them know my family holds them in our heart today."
West Virginia University also released a statement extending their condolences. "Our sincere condolences are with the Diviney family with word of Ryan's death," they wrote. "The Diviney family has been an inspiration in its devotion to and care for Ryan since the tragedy almost 10 years ago. All Mountaineers hold Ryan and his family in our hearts during this very difficult time."
The horror assault on Diviney and his family's devotion to keeping him alive was detailed in a documentary called 'Storming.'
In 2009, Austin Vantrease and Jonathan May were charged in connection with the brutal assault that left Diviney in a vegetative state for the rest of his life.
May served seven months in prison after throwing the initial punch. But Vantrease was convicted and sentenced to 2-10 years for malicious assault after he kicked Diviney in the head after he fell to the ground. He was released on parole in 2014 after serving four years.
Ken Diviney told the judge during Vantrease's 2010 sentencing hearing that he wanted just "two minutes" with his son's attacker in a "locked room with a baseball bat." At the time, he said the defendant wouldn't "come out in any worse condition than my son."
But nine years after the horrific incident, the pain still lingers. The embattled father told the Washington Post that he was still angry at those who ruthlessly injured his son.
Having said that, prosecutors can still, theoretically, bring murder charges against Vantrease and May citing a "delayed death exception."