Single-Car Crash Devastates U of Wyoming Swim Team

3 members killed Thursday in Colorado
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 23, 2024 12:10 PM CST
Crash Kills 3 Members of U of Wyoming Swim Team
The University of Wyoming campus sign with the Wyoming Union in the background Friday March 23, 2012 in Laramie, Wyo.   (Andy Carpenean/Laramie Boomerang via AP)

Three members of the University of Wyoming swim and dive team are dead following a single-car crash in Colorado. Five people were in a Toyota RAV4 heading south along Highway 287, about 10 miles from the Colorado-Wyoming border, around 2:45pm local time on Thursday when the vehicle went off the road and rolled. "Initial indications are that the driver swerved and the vehicle went off the road, rolling multiple times," the university said in a release, per CBS News. Two people were ejected as the vehicle rolled down an embankment, SwimSwam reports. CBS shares a photo from the scene, showing the vehicle almost unrecognizable due to the damage, lying on its side with large holes in the windshield and the roof, possibly used to extract occupants.

A 22-year-old male, 21-year-old male, and 18-year-old female were killed. Their names haven't been released. Head swim coach Dave Denniston says one of the victims is an international student, per SwimSwam. Two other male students, ages 20 and 21, were hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries, according to the outlet. The crash occurred as Wyoming's women's swim team competes at the 2024 Mountain West Championships in Houston. However, authorities said those involved in the crash weren't traveling to or from any athletic function, per CBS. Denniston tells SwimSwam his team is "devastated." "Words are insufficient to express our sadness," adds university President Ed Seidel in a statement. (More University of Wyoming stories.)

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