RILEY, Indiana — Three people died and two more were injured in a fiery crash near Terre Haute Sunday morning.
On Monday, the Vigo County Sheriff’s Office released the names of the those involved in the crash:
- Christian Eubanks, 18, of Waukegan, Illinois
- Jayden Musili, 19, of Fort Wayne
- Caleb VanHooser, 19, of Liberty Township, Ohio
Omarion Dixon, 20, of Lafayette; and John Moore, 19, of Wheaton, Illinois, were injured in the crash.
According to ISU, Dixon and Moore are out of intensive care but are still in serious condition.
According to Indiana State University's website, Eubanks, VanHooser, Dixon and Moore are listed on the 2022 football roster.
"The feelings were unimaginable when the team learned of what happened," said Curt Mallory, head football coach.
The crash happened around 1:30 a.m. on State Road 46 and Main Street in Riley, Indiana, which is southeast of Terre Haute and roughly 10 miles from ISU's campus.
According to a crash report from the Vigo County Sheriff's Office, one of the survivors told deputies the five students were traveling back from a house party at Indiana University in Bloomington, where they all had been drinking.
That student told deputies the vehicle was going 90 miles per hour when the car suddenly veered off the road, hit a tree and caught fire with five people inside.
According to the crash report, there was heavy rain, thunderstorms and 3 to 4 inches of standing water at the time of the crash.
A witness, identified as Lucas Bishop, told deputies he was going east on State Road 46 when he heard a loud noise and saw a vehicle that had crashed into a tree and caught fire.
According to the crash report, Bishop was able to pull one of the occupants from the vehicle. A man driving a truck stopped to help Bishop pulled a second person from the burning vehicle.
Firefighters got the fire under control and found three people — Eubanks, Musili and VanHooser — still inside the vehicle, who were all pronounced dead at the scene.
"Can you report towards Main Street, we have a vehicle on fire with entrapment," a call into 911 dispatch said.
Two passengers escaped with serious injuries and were taken to the hospital.
One of them was identified Sunday night in a tweet from a high school in West Lafayette.
Omarion Dixon attended Harrison H.S. in Tippecanoe County and is listed as a redshirt freshman on Indiana State's 2022 football roster. He appeared briefly in three games in 2021.
Dixon already underwent surgery for his injuries in the crash.
Vigo County Sheriff John Plasse said the driver and two passengers couldn't be saved.
“This is a terrible tragedy,” ISU President Dr. Deborah J. Curtis said in the school's post. “As we are waiting on additional details from authorities investigating this accident, our hearts go out to the families and friends of the students involved.”
Signs of the crash were still visible Sunday afternoon. Tire tracks and skid marks could be seen at the crash scene.
Sunday night, an Ohio high school tweet identified one of those killed as Caleb VanHooser, a freshman at Indiana State, who was "called home to Heaven early this morning."
VanHooser played offense and defense on the Lakota East football team near Cincinnati, and ran for the track team.
"Our hearts, thoughts and prayers go out to the families and all who were involved in this tragic accident!" Indiana State Football tweeted said in the tweet following the crash.
It's a tragedy that happened as college students return to campuses across the country. At ISU, students are returning to campus only to experience heartbreaking loss.
The campus came together outside Memorial Stadium to mourn those who died during a gathering on Sunday. Hundreds of students, coaches and parents attended the gathering to support ISU Athletics.
Mike Bath, a football coach at ISU, also tweeted, saying, "Heartbreaking… Please pray for the families and friends of these young men, this university, and the men and coaches in this program."
"I can’t even begin to describe the pain we are all feeling today. Please take some time out of your day to pray for everyone involved. Fly high guys," tweeted ISU quarterback Cade Chambers.
And, ISU said, its women’s soccer match Sunday afternoon has been postponed because of the tragedy. The team was scheduled to take on Northern Illinois University.
Laurence Paterson, the assistant women's soccer coach for Northern Illinois University, said "some things are bigger than soccer" and offered his prayers for ISU Athletics.
The school has counseling services available for students, faculty and staff at 812-237-3939.