USU athletes remain in critical condition following traffic accident

Four Utah State football players and a former USU softball player remain hospitalized after a Friday accident in Trenton. The vehicle they were in was t-boned by a semi hauling 52,000 pounds of milk.

The 2002 Chevy Tahoe was driven by 22 year old Travis Seefeldt, a senior defensive lineman for the USU football team. Former USU softball player Sarah Vasquez was the front passenger. Edmund Fimalo, Adewald Adeoye, and John Taylor (all defensive linemen for the USU football team) were all in the back. According to the Utah Highway Patrol, none of them appeared to be wearing seatbelts at the time of the accident.

According to a post by USU softball coach Steve Johnson on Twitter, Sarah Vasquez underwent surgery Friday night and will undergo another surgery Saturday. He said she is in “critical but stable condition” and her injuries are not “life threatening.”

The last known condition of the other athletes is that they, too, were in critical condition.

Vasquez was a senior on the USU softball team which concluded its season in May. She was initially transported to Logan Regional Hospital following the accident but was later flown to McKay Dee Hospital in Ogden. Seefeldt was transported from the scene of the accident to McKay Dee Hospital via medical helicopter.

The college students were returning from Newton Reservoir when they approached the intersection of SR-23 and SR-142. The intersection is not a 4-way stop but it appears Seefeldt may have believed that it was.

According to witnesses, the Tahoe did slow down and appeared to stop or almost stop, but then pulled into the intersection in front of a southbound 2007 Maroon Peterbuilt semi truck. The semi driver, Steve Randall of Preston, Idaho, attempted to swerve and avoid a collision. The semi struck hit the Tahoe on the driver’s side, pushing it southeast about 75 yards and into the front yard of a nearby residence.

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