By Elena Perri • Posted May 21, 2025

Ryan Quigley had never gone duck hunting before, but he hopped on a plane to New Orleans after Christmas last year to join his best friend Martin “Tiger” Bech, a native of Lafayette, Louisiana, for a few days of hunting and celebrating New Year’s Eve before they headed back to their bond trader and bond salesman jobs in New York City.

The pair went to Bourbon Street with friends to ring in the New Year. Then tragedy struck.

A man driving a pickup truck sped through the crowd, hitting several people, including Quigley and Bech. Quigley and more than 50 others were injured during the attack, and Bech was among the 14 people who were killed.

Quigley, a 2016 graduate of Lansdale Catholic High School, recently returned to speak with the entire school community about his harrowing experience and the lessons he learned from going through the tragic event that took the life of his closest friend.

He told the students about the severe injuries he sustained during the terror attack: broken right fibula, ACL and meniscus tears in his right knee, torn muscles in his back and hip flexor, broken nose and facial lacerations, and road rash on his body.

He has had two surgeries on his knee and one facial surgery, and he is currently going to physical therapy four times a week.

“I told them exactly what happened, that I was hit by this truck, and I lost my best friend Tiger,” Quigley said.

Be grateful for living in the now

His message to the students emanated from the painful loss of his best friend and his own brush with death.

“I wanted to encourage them to be grateful for living in the now and to not get carried (away) in stressing about the future and just be grateful for everything they’ve been given in the present,” he said. “You really never know when your last breath is going to be. You don’t know if tomorrow’s a given.”

The reaction from students was a heartwarming and healing experience for Quigley.

“It hit home with a lot of students, especially one (student) who lost her parents,” he said. “I’m so grateful to have spoken to them. It truly meant a lot to me, and I know it meant a lot to the kids.”

As a student at Lansdale Catholic, Quigley was a three-sport athlete, playing on the varsity football, baseball and basketball teams. He also was actively involved in the Community Service Corps and Campus Ministry programs at the school.

“Lansdale Catholic taught me values that I’ll hold for life because it helped me get into Princeton (University),” he said. “It helped me play football at Princeton, and it really propelled me to the next level to be successful.”

Quigley is grateful to be part of the Lansdale Catholic community, and he recently joined the alumni board to support his alma mater.

“It was healing for me in a way to share the story that this horrible thing happened, but there’s a lot of beauty that comes from tragedy,” he said.

Rather than withdraw and wallow in his sadness, Quigley has chosen the path of positivity and encouragement while keeping Tiger’s memory alive.

“I’m going to help others view life differently and use it as a catalyst for the students to be appreciative for everything they have in life,” Quigley said.

Meeting Tiger, forging a brotherly bond

During a December 2015 Princeton University visit, Tiger Bech was the first person Quigley met at the school.

“I met him outside the Princeton Chapel during our official visit for football,” Quigley said. “We were both 5-10, same body build, same type of football player. We had the same interests. We were the same person.”

Bech, born and raised in Lafayette, and Quigley who grew up in Lansdale, just clicked.

They not only worked next to each other at Seaport Global in New York, but they also lived together, went to the gym together, and traveled together.

“We spent our entire lives with each other,” Quigley said. “People would joke and say that we were married.”

That strong brotherly bond makes Tiger’s death even tougher to accept.

“He had so much energy and positivity, and the light that he brought into the room was infectious,” Quigley said. “He left this world way too early, but we had a special bond that was closer than anyone I’ve ever had in this world.”

Quigley recently joined the Bech family for NFL Draft Sunday because Tiger’s younger brother Jack, a talented wide receiver from Texas Christian University and NFL prospect, was projected as an early round draft pick. The Oakland Raiders selected Jack Bech with the 58th pick in the second round.

Quigley was by Jack’s side cheering along with family and friends who gathered at the Bech family home to watch the draft.

“I got to take the role of Tiger being at the draft, standing next to Jack and helping him understand that, although I’ll never be Tiger, I’m here to be your older brother as much as you’ll let me,” he said.

His new brothers: the Philadelphia Eagles

Football has been a major part of Quigley’s life as a player and as a longtime Philadelphia Eagles fan.

Shortly after he was released from the hospital, the Eagles invited Quigley to attend the team’s divisional round game on Jan. 19 against the Los Angeles Rams at Lincoln Financial Field.

The team also surprised him with tickets to Super Bowl LIX at the Superdome in New Orleans. While Quigley didn’t think he would ever return to New Orleans, he welcomed the opportunity to see his beloved Eagles play against the Kansas City Chiefs.

“It was a tough decision, but I went back to New Orleans as their honorary guest,” he said. “It was great to see how awesome these guys were off the field, because obviously they’re icons on the field. I was able to see firsthand that they’re better people off the field.”

Following the Eagles’ 40-22 victory, Quigley and hundreds of thousands of fans headed into Philadelphia on Feb. 14 for the Super Bowl parade to celebrate the team’s championship win.

During the parade, Quigley once again felt the camaraderie and kindness of the Eagles players.

As the buses inched closer to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Landon Dickerson, Jordan Mailata and Cam Jurgens spotted Quigley sitting in his wheelchair, and they yelled to the driver to stop the bus. Then the players jumped off and helped Quigley get onto the team bus.

At the top of the Art Museum steps, Quigley had another memorable experience. Jurgens and Mailata carried him in his wheelchair down the steps to where a podium was set up for the players and team officials to give speeches.

“That was nerve wracking, but if I wanted anyone carrying me down the stairs, it was them,” said Quigley, who joined Saquon Barkley at the podium and had a chance to speak to the crowd.

“It was such a surreal experience to be a part of the biggest moments of their lives and be so close to them during it,” he said.

Healing and growing in faith

While those moments with the Eagles players were thrilling, Quigley will always feel the profound loss of his best friend.

“I loved that kid to death,” he said. “As much as I miss Tiger, I know he’s in a better place, and I know he’s smiling down on me. I’ve never had a better guardian angel.”

Quigley is leaning on his family and friends for support as he continues to heal physically and emotionally.

“They’ve all rallied around me,” he said. “They’ve supported me in every way during the hardest time of my life.”

Quigley’s Catholic faith also has been an ongoing source of strength during his recovery.

“It’s helped me in every way,” he said. “I’ve only continued to get closer to God and stronger in my faith because of this.”

Helping others to know Tiger and how passionately he lived his life is incredibly important to Quigley who is committed to honoring his friend’s memory and inspiring others to make the most of their lives.

“I’m looking forward to encouraging other people to live like Tiger because he lived life so fully,” Quigley said.

“I’m going to continue to introduce Tiger to as many people as I meet in life because he deserves that.”