CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Three members of the University of Wyoming swimming and diving team died in a highway accident in northern Colorado.
The accident occurred Thursday afternoon on US 287, about 10 miles (16 kilometers) south of the Wyoming-Colorado line between Laramie and Fort Collins, Colorado.
The three swimmers who died in the accident were: Charlie Clark, 19, a sophomore on the Las Vegas men's team; Luke Slabber, 21, junior on the South African men's team; and Carson Muir, 18, a freshman on the women's team from Birmingham, Alabama.
The crash injured two other team members who were expected to survive, according to a statement from the University of Wyoming.
The two injured men, ages 20 and 21, were taken to hospitals, according to a statement from the Colorado State Patrol.
“My thoughts and prayers are with our swimming and diving student-athletes, coaches, families and friends,” Wyoming athletic director Tom Burman said in a statement. “It is difficult to lose members of our University of Wyoming family and we mourn the loss of these student-athletes. We have counseling services available to our student-athletes and coaches in our time of need.”
The accident occurred when the driver of the Toyota RAV4 sport utility vehicle with four other people inside swerved off the pavement, and the vehicle rolled several times, according to the release.
The truck was headed south and apparently was not on an official team trip, according to the patrol statement.
The accident was being investigated.
“We are heartbroken at the news of this terrible tragedy for our university, our state, our community of student-athletes and, most importantly, the families and friends of these young people,” University of Wyoming President Ed Seidel.
In 2001, a head-on collision with a drunk driver on the same highway killed eight members of the University of Wyoming cross-country team. Clint Haskins, also a University of Wyoming student, swerved into the lane in front of the northbound sport utility vehicle.
Haskins was the only survivor of that crash 15 miles (24 kilometers) south of Laramie. He pleaded guilty to aggravated vehicular manslaughter and was paroled after nine and a half years in prison.
Information from the associated press was used in this report.
