Three Indiana State University students died in a fiery single-vehicle accident early Sunday, the school said in a news release.
The university identified the victims as freshmen Christian Eubanks and Caleb VanHooser and sophomore Jayden Musili. Eubanks and VanHooser were both football players for the university's team and Musili had just become an ISU student this year.
“There are no words to express the depth of our sadness about this tragedy,” ISU President Deborah J. Curtis said in the statement. “We send our condolences to the family and friends of the students involved."
There were five people in the vehicle at the time of the accident, all of whom were ISU students, the university confirmed. The two surviving students are football players Omarion Dixon and John Moore, who are "out of intensive care but still in serious condition."
Vigo County sheriff's deputies arrived on the scene of the single-vehicle accident in Riley, Indiana, at 1:34 a.m. Sunday. The accident happened about 15 minutes away from the university, which is located in Terre Haute, Indiana.
"The vehicle had left the roadway and struck a tree," Sheriff John Plasse said in a statement. "Upon deputies arrival, the vehicle, occupied by a driver and four passengers, was on fire."
Two of the passengers were freed from the car with serious injuries and taken for medical treatment. The driver and two other people were pronounced dead at the scene, Plasse said.
The Indiana State University football team did not practice Monday. On Sunday night, student athletes gathered at the university's Memorial Stadium to mourn the victims.
“It is a terrible day for Indiana State football and a devastating loss for both the Eubanks and the VanHooser families," Head Football Coach Curt Mallory said in a statement. "Both young men were quality individuals who were loved and respected by their teammates and this staff. To say they will be missed is an understatement."
