KAY COUNTY, Okla. (KFOR) – Three University of Oklahoma meteorology students died Friday night when their vehicle was struck by a semi-truck on their way home from chasing severe weather in Kansas.
“It’s just so sudden,” said Brayden Siau, an OU meteorology student and close friend of the three victims. “They’re just gone, I really don’t know… It’s awful.”
Siau told KFOR Nicholas K. Nair, 20, of Denton, Texas, Gavin A. Short, 19, of Grayslake, Ill., and Drake H. Brooks, 22, of Evansville, Ind., couldn’t have been more thrilled to be covering Friday night’s storms.
“They had a great day. They call their parents after and we’re telling them about how excited they were,” said Siau. “Drake actually saw his first tornado yesterday.”
However, the night took a devastating turn on their ride back to Norman.
The three students were traveling in a 2017 Volkswagen Tiguan, heading south on I-35 in rainy weather, when at approximately 11:23 p.m. the vehicle hydroplaned, lost control and went off the right side of the road. The vehicle reentered the road to the left and became disabled, blocking the outside lane, Oklahoma Highway Patrol officials said.
“Before they could exit their vehicle, a semi came along in the rain and struck them broadside in the interstate,” said Lt. Phillip Ludwyck, with OHP.
All three young men were pinned for approximately 5 hours and 26 minutes inside the Volkswagen. Tonkawa Fire and EMS officials freed their bodies from the wreckage. They were pronounced dead at the scene.
“It’s just heartbreaking to think we lost three very talented young men. Our hearts and our prayers, just as an agency and as Oklahomans, goes out to the families,” said. Lt. Luckwyck. “You know, they lost sons in just a tragic, tragic accident.”