Family turns grief into life-saving mission after 26-year-old dies from skateboarding accident
By Naomi Popa
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WILLIAMSTON, South Carolina (WYFF) — An Upstate family is turning grief into a life-saving mission after a man tragically died from a skateboarding accident.
Twenty-six-year-old Troy Link experienced a traumatic brain injury and acute respiratory failure after he fell from his board on W. Main Street in Williamston on March 9.
“We were getting a lot of that. It’s just a skateboarding accident. Just a skateboarding accident. I was like, no, I don’t think you understand. Like, this is significant,” Callie Tayrien, TJ’s sister, said.
Tayrien is a mother, a nurse, a wife, and an older sister to three siblings. She was 12 years older than TJ and was just recently building an even closer relationship with her brother.
“He wanted us to all be closer. And I promised him that we would work on that. And even though it took this for that to happen, he got that wish, you know, we were all together, and I just hope he knows that.”
When TJ fell from his skateboard, he became unresponsive and was E-vaced to Greenville Memorial Hospital. It was there that TJ spent 15 days fighting for his life. According to Tayrien, doctors monitored TJ’s brain for two days before it was determined that he needed surgery. He underwent a craniectomy due to the swelling of his brain. At the time, TJ was also experiencing an impact on his lungs.
“Knowing kind of how he came in was pretty indicative of what his prognosis was. And they’ve just continued to have significant issues with his lungs. And they tried everything. They exhausted every option,” Tayrien said.
Tayrien was joined by her sister Chloe, Kirsti, her mother, and countless other family members at the hospital while TJ fought for his life before he died March 24.
“I wish I could tell him I love him again. And I told him a lot during those 15 days, but I wish I could have said it sooner and more often,” Tayrien said.
TJ loved hockey; he was a fan of the Dallas Stars and liked watching the Greenville Swamp Rabbits as well. Tayrien told WYFF 4 that TJ was an avid music listener, was full of life, funny, and determined to make people smile.
“I can’t stress that enough. Like he was just the sweetest and kindest person,” Tayrien said.
Tayrien wants people to hear her brother’s story and be reminded of the importance of wearing a helmet and taking preventative safety measures seriously.
“A helmet with padding could have, you know, like I said, I don’t think it would have necessarily prevented a head injury, but maybe not one not as severe. And he would still be here with us,” Tayrien said.
When TJ’s diagnosis was getting worse, his family was approached by staff at the hospital about his decision to be a donor. His mother knew firsthand how important that was to him, and according to Tayrien, was even encouraging his mother to become a donor.
TJ donated three vital organs, his kidneys and heart. Among those three are countless others that TJ was willing to donate after his passing. Tayrien said it’s been comforting knowing that someone has a piece of TJ, specifically, his heart.
“My mom’s like, I hope I can bring a stethoscope and just listen. I just want to hear it again,” she said.
Tayrien’s two children were never able to meet their uncle, but Callie promises to remind them how selfless and kind he was. She said she will continue to advocate for helmets and safety prevention with her own children in hopes that it could save a life one day.
“I think he would give you the shirt off his back. So, the fact that he literally was able to give somebody his heart is, you know, more than he could have ever asked. And to us, his family,” she said.
Before TJ moved to Anderson County, he lived in Tennessee, where he advocated for a multi-use sports pad/skate park in November 2025. While the idea wasn’t passed by the city of LaFollette then, his mother plans on advocating for the park in the future, with hopes it can be named after him and ensure that helmets are mandatory.
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