News

UM student died Sunday of skull-fracture complications

Posted on Feb. 19, 2009, at 12:00 a.m.

University of Maine student Dylan Lyford – a 19-year-old who friends described as someone who would always make them smile – died of complications related to a skull fracture, according to an autopsy.

Lyford, 19, of Milo, Maine, was found unconscious Sunday, Feb. 15 at 10:35 a.m. before being transported from a Stillwater Avenue address to Eastern Maine Medical Center by ambulance, where he was pronounced dead, according to Old Town police.

“He was found at the base of the stairwell in the interior of the building,” said Detective Tom Adams of the Old Town police. “Nobody saw him fall.”

Adams said people found Lyford at 2 a.m. Sunday. He said he was unsure if alcohol was involved, and the blood alcohol test is expected to come back sometime next week.

“I was told that he had been drinking,” said Robert Dana, vice president for Student Affairs. He heard from a student that “there was a lot of alcohol involved, and he had fallen down the stairs.”

Tania Riegelman, a friend of Lyford who lives on the second floor of the building where the incident occured, said he fell.

“It was an accident, but there was a party,” Riegelman said.

James Ferland of the State Medical Examiner’s Office said the cause of death was cerebral contusions and edema due to a skull fracture.

Lyford was a first-year student who lived in Somerset Hall. “He was studying engineering, I believe it was chemical [engineering],” Dana said.

“Any case that involves alcohol is a case that puts students at great risk,” Dana said.

Lyford’s friends say he was a happy, helpful person.

“Dylan was my brother and my best friend, and he was an incredible person. I have a hard time remembering the last time I saw him sad,” Lyford’s brother, Doug Lyford stated in an e-mail.

Doug Lyford described his brother as smart and witty, saying everyone who met him liked him.

“It is difficult to find the right words right now, but I just hope that everybody tries to take something positive away from this. I want everyone to take a piece of Dylan’s philosophy with them and just be happy,” Doug Lyford said.

Samantha Graham met Lyford through her roommate and became friends with him.

“He was the kind of kid that you could always count on for a cheerful spirit and no matter the mood you were in, it instantly changed as soon as you saw his bright, smiling face,” said Graham, a UMaine student. “I remember a million times coming back to my apartment and being in a terrible mood after practice or having a bad day, and as soon as I saw Dylan, it was like nothing had happened and the whole day had been erased. I was so glad whenever I would see his dorky blue and silver car with stars in my driveway, and I would get so excited walking into the room knowing he was there.”

Graham hopes people take something positive out of Lyford’s death, “and realizes that Dylan wouldn’t have wanted people to sit around and cry for him, he would have wanted us to laugh and remember all of the good times and memories that we had.”

Friend and student Tionna Baldwin agreed.

“Dylan was the kind of person that lit up a room with his personality. I’ve seen him every day so far since we’ve started college, and since he’s been gone life hasn’t been the same,” Baldwin said. “… Dylan was such a cute person and he had such a long life ahead of him. He was capable of so many things and it is a real tragedy that our world has to go on without him.”

Mary Duncan also said Lyford was a good friend.

“Dylan was one of the greatest guys I know. If I was ever in need of help, physically or emotionally, I knew Dylan would be there. He was so full of life and never turned down a challenge,” said Duncan, a second-year early childhood education student. “Dylan was a person you could always lean on in a time of need and know that you were always going to be taken care of,” she said.

Campus Currents: Dylan Lyford