A Sprinter van carrying members of a Santa Clarita Valley-based girls hockey team was involved in a fatal three-vehicle crash with a snowplow that killed a team member’s father on Interstate 70 in Colorado on Thursday morning, according to Colorado State Patrol officials and team sources.
The occupants of the van were players and adults affiliated with the Santa Clarita Flyers 12-and-under girls’ hockey team, whose home rink is The Cube in Valencia. A source familiar with the team said not all members of the team were traveling in the van and the team’s coach was not in the van.
“Our 12AA Lady Flyers were on their way to Denver, Colorado, to participate in a WGHL weekend. We ask that you keep our hockey families in your prayers and that you give them time to sort through the details of this tragic event,” said in a Facebook post from SCV Flyers’ President Prescott Littlefield on the SC Flyers’ Facebook page.
The Sprinter van was carrying 10 occupants, of whom three adults and four children were transported to a hospital for treatment of injuries, according to a news release by Sgt. Ivan Alvarado with the CSP.
“In addition, one juvenile was transported by medical helicopter to an area trauma center with critical injuries. One adult male passenger refused to be transported to the hospital, and the driver of the Sprinter van was dead on scene,” Alvarado added in the news release.
A team source said Thursday evening at about 5:30 p.m. that all of the injured children had been treated and released, and that the driver who was killed was the father of one of the children.
CSP responded to the crash at 8:53 a.m., Alvarado said.
The CDOT plow truck was traveling westbound on I-70 when the driver lost control near mile post 218. The plow truck traveled through the median, breaking through the cable rail and into the eastbound lanes. The plow collided with a Toyota Tacoma that was traveling eastbound in the eastbound lanes. After impact, the Toyota went through the median and struck a BMW traveling westbound in the westbound lanes, according to the news release.
The plow continued eastbound and struck the Sprinter van that was traveling eastbound in the eastbound lanes. After the impact, the Sprinter van ended up down an embankment. The CDOT plow came to rest on the shoulder. There are no known reports of injuries to the occupants of the other involved vehicles, the news release added.
The Santa Clarita Flyers 12U AA girls’ team was scheduled to play several games this weekend in the Western Girls Hockey League playoffs, starting Friday at two rinks in Littleton, Colorado.
On Thursday evening, a fundraising effort was initiated on social media seeking donations to help those involved in the crash to fly home rather than going through the ordeal of arranging to be driven home.
“No time for a GoFundMe,” the post said, because flights need to be booked for Sunday and Monday for a total of nine parents and team members. Team supporters asked that contributions be sent via Venmo to Steffanie Stelnick: venmo.com/u/Steffanie-Stelnick or @Steffanie-Stelnick.
Donors are being asked to write in the notes for tracking, “Lady Flyers 12UAA.”
The post said that any remaining funds after the flights are paid for “will stay with the team and may be used for whatever they need, the memorial, etc.”
This is a breaking news story, and more information will added as it becomes available.
