Former Princeton wide receiver Tiger Bech died Wednesday morning as a result of the terror attack in New Orleans on New Year’s Day, according to KLFY in Lafayette, Louisiana. His older brother Jack Bech was a senior wide receiver at TCU. The 28-year-old Bech received transportation to a New Orleans hospital, where he later died, Lafayette (La.) St. Thomas More Catholic athletic director Kim Broussard told KLFY. According to the report, Bech was kept on life support until family arrived.
New Orleans Police superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick confirmed that a man deliberately drove his pickup truck around barricades and into a crowd on Bourbon Street in the French Quarter early on Jan. 1, during the final moments of New Year’s Eve festivities. Authorities reported that 35 people were hospitalized. CBS News stated that the driver died.
«This man was trying to run over as many people as he could,» Kirkpatrick said, according to CBS News.
The College Football Playoff Sugar Bowl matchup between Georgia and Notre Dame originally scheduled for Wednesday night is postponed, New Orleans district attorney Jason Williams told CBS’s WWL-TV. The game is now set for Thursday at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans.
Bech earned second-team All-Ivy League honors in 2018 and 2017 as a return specialist at Princeton. He spent three seasons with the Tigers catching 53 passes for 825 yards and three touchdowns. He averaged 23.1 yards per kickoff return and 10.8 yards per punt return.
Bech graduated from Princeton in 2021 with a degree in finance.
Bech earned all-state honors by the Louisiana Coaches Association and was a member of the All-Acadiana Regional and All-District First Team by the Southwest Louisiana Regional newspaper prior to his time at Princeton. He played wide receiver, quarterback, punt returner and defensive back for Lafayette (La.) St. Thomas More Catholic. Bech ranked second in single-season receptions and yards in school history despite. He also ranked second in single-season all-purpose yards. Bech also lettered in lacrosse and track.