DENTON, Texas — Denton Ryan defensive coordinator Aaron De La Torre has died, Denton Independent School District officials said Wednesday.
The circumstances surrounding his death were unknown Wednesday, but the news shocked the Denton Ryan community.
"The loss of Aaron De La Torre is a tragedy. He was a husband, father, grandfather and friend to many. Please pray for those whose lives he impacted and the Ryan High School family as they navigate this sudden and difficult loss," Denton ISD officials said in a statement. "We have reached out to Coach De La Torre’s family to let them know we will provide support during this unexpected loss, and they have asked us to respect their privacy."
De La Torre had coached for 17 years and spent his last seven with the Raiders. He previously was the head coach at Irving High School.
His sudden death comes a week after the Hickory Creek Police Department closed its investigation into an alleged assault involving a Ryan High School football coach and a 12-year-old boy, according to the Denton Record-Chronicle. The case initially came to light after a TikTok video implicated De La Torre as the coach involved.
Hickory Creek police said the investigation was closed after the parent of the boy had declined to press charges, the Denton-Chronicle reported.
De La Torre was a defensive tackle for Stephen F. Austin and had a brief NFL career before getting into coaching. He started his coaching career for his alma mater, then moved to Denton Ryan from 2009 to 2011. De La Torre left to be the head coach at Irving for six seasons from 2012 to 2017, but then returned to Denton Ryan as defensive coordinator.
A GoFundMe page has been started to help out De La Torre's family.
More Texas headlines:
