3 University of Wyoming swimmers killed in highway crash in Colorado

CHEYENNE, Wyo.– Three members of the University of Wyoming swimming and diving team were killed in a highway crash in northern Colorado.

The crash occurred Thursday afternoon on US 287, about 10 miles (16 kilometers) south of the Wyoming-Colorado line between Laramie and Fort Collins, Colo.

The crash injured two other team members who were expected to survive, according to a statement from the University of Wyoming.

The university has not released the names of the victims pending family notification.

The crash apparently happened when the driver swerved and left the sidewalk, causing the vehicle to roll over several times, the statement said.

The accident was investigated.

“We are heartbroken by 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,” University of Wyoming President Ed Seidel said in the statement.

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 student at the University of Wyoming, swerved into the lane in front of the northbound SUV.

Haskins was the only survivor of the crash 15 miles south of Laramie. He pleaded guilty to aggravated vehicular homicide and was released on parole after 9 1/2 years in prison.