3 University of Wyoming swimmers killed in car crash; 2 injured — 23 years after similar tragedy struck school
Three University of Wyoming swimmers were killed in a single-vehicle crash on a Colorado highway Thursday afternoon, while two team members were injured in the tragedy.
Charlie Clark, 19; Carson Muir, 18; and Luke Slabber, 21, had been driving southbound on US Highway 287 — 10 miles from the Wyoming-Colorado border and about 25 miles north of Fort Collins, Colo. — at around 2:44 p.m. before the driver swerved off the road and rolled the vehicle multiple times, university officials said.
Two student-athletes were ejected from the car, according to the Coloradoan.
Two other members of Wyoming’s swimming and diving team, ages 20 and 21, suffered non-life-threatening injuries.
Head coach Dave Denniston told SwimSwam that his team is “devastated” while UW President Ed Seidel was “heartsick” over the deadly crash.
“We are heartsick at the news of this terrible tragedy for our university, our state, our student-athlete community and, most importantly, the families and friends of these young people,” Seidel said in a statement. “Words are insufficient to express our sadness.”
Colorado State Police is investigating the crash, the Coloradoan reported.
Muir was just a freshman at the school, studying animal and veterinary sciences.
The Birmingham, Ala. native specialized in freestyle butterfly events for the Cowgirls.
Clark, meanwhile, was a sophomore on the men’s team and a psychology major from Las Vegas, Nev.
He primarily competed in distance freestyles and individual medleys.
His teammate Slabber came all the way from Cape Town, South Africa to study construction management at the University of Wyoming.
Slabber was a junior at the school, where he swam in spring freestyle, breaststroke and individual medley.
Their deaths came just one week after Army ROTC student Sabrina Geller, of Lamarie, Wy. was found dead in a wooded area.
Circumstances surrounding her death remain unclear, but cops do not suspect foul play.
“I attended Sabrina’s memorial service Thursday, along with many from our community, and I was touched by the number of people she had impacted in her short life,” University President Ed Seidel said in a statement Friday.
“That’s certainly the case for our swimming and diving team members as well.
“They hailed from widely different geographies, but they found a home on our campus and in our student-athlete community.
“We will miss them all immensely.”
Head coach Dave Denniston previously told SwimSwam that his team is “devastated” by the loss, while UW Director of Athletics Tom Burman said his “thoughts and prayers are with our swimming and diving student-athletes, coaches, families and friends.”
The school is now providing counseling services to those in need, Seidel said, adding: “As we mourn the loss of these students, let’s do our best and pull together, support those who are suffering and show the compassion and kindness that characterize what it means to be part of this community.”
The women’s swim team is in the Mountain West Championships in Houston, Texas, where they set a school record in the 800 freestyle relay on Feb. 21.
