Posted on 05/02/2022 10:08:33 AM PDT by Red Badger
Three college students were killed in a car crash while returning from storm chasing in Kansas late Friday evening.
The students, who were studying meteorology at the University of Oklahoma, were identified as 20-year-old Nicholas Nair of Denton, Texas; 19-year old Gavin Short of Grayslake, Illinois; and 22-year old Drake Brooks of Evansville, Indiana.
“The three were in a vehicle being driven by Nair southbound on Interstate 35 when the vehicle hydroplaned and was struck by a tractor-trailer rig in Tonkawa, about 85 miles (137 kilometers) north of Oklahoma City,” CBS News reported.
According to Oklahoma Highway Patrol, the car the students were in veered into the left lane due to rainy conditions when the tractor-trailer rig then hit it.
“Before they could exit their vehicle, a semi came along in the rain and struck them broadside in the interstate,” Oklahoma Highway Patrol Lt. Phillip Ludwyck of Oklahoma said.
“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,” he added. “You know, they lost sons in just a tragic, tragic accident.”
Fellow meteorological student and friend, Brayden Siau, was surprised at how “sudden” the loss was, according to Fox46. “It’s just so sudden,” he said. “They’re just gone, I really don’t know… It’s awful.”
Siau added that the three students said they had a good time in Kansas and talked to their parents “to tell them how excited they were” after the experience.
“The university is devastated to learn of the tragic passing of three students. Each were valued and loved members of our community,” the University of Oklahoma said in a statement.
The tornado that the students had been chasing hit a 13-mile stretch of south-central Kansas and caused damage to more than 1,000 buildings. Wind speeds reached up to 165 miles per hour and the tornado was reportedly on the ground for at least twenty minutes.
No one was killed in the storm, but four people were injured. The tornado hit Andover, a suburb of Wichita, especially hard. Between 300 and 400 buildings in the area were destroyed, according to Fire Chief Chad Russell.
Sixteen-thousand people also lost power during the storm, with 15,000 getting power back by Sunday morning.
“The city of Andover will be affected by this for years,” Russell said. “We still have scars from 1991 (EF-5 tornado). I’m so thankful this tornado was not as bad as that, but we will literally be doing this for years.”
The scariest scene in a movie I have ever seen was of a car being hit and some passengers killed. One minute they were laughing, the next, silence.
We live such safe lives.
May God rest their souls and comfort their families.
Sigh.
As a much older guy, I know the dangers inherent in these weather things, and would never run after them. They are as unpredictable as a wild animal, and far more dangerous.
And when these powers of nature catch you in their grasp (like the ocean) you realize you are not invincible, even though your 20 year old brain screams that you are, and your desire to experience all that life has to offer (including, and expecially, the dangerous things) overrides your common sense.
Sad.
They didn’t have more time to get older and learn.
I see that they weren’t killed directly by the tornado, but got caught up in the chase and were either caught in an unexpectedly heavy area of precipitation or simply weren’t paying close attention to road conditions.
Either way, hard situation.
They were heading home and hydroplaned into a semi.
They died doing what they loved.
They died in a car crash, not chasing the storm.
Sad. RIP.
Add my prayer to yours.
They were doing nothing wrong, it just happens. The price of living is dying, but if we’re Christians, we know that God will wipe alway all our tears and all will be well.
If only they had stayed in mom’s basement, smoking weed playing video games watching porn and eating junk food./s
Well said.
" When you used to tell me that you chase tornadoes, deep down I always just thought it was a metaphor."
Play stupid games.
Win stupid prizes.
Nowadays, there are so many stormchasers out on the road, the biggest risk is getting into an accident with another stormchaser, rather than the tornado itself.
Seeing a tornado birth is on my bucket list. Tech is to the point that the data available to the news meteorologists can be had on a dash mounted tablet.
The storm didn’t kill them ... they were t-boned by another driver.
Correction: The storm did play into it, but only a little. Hydroplaned on wet road.
I always thought the move TWISTER showed the worst possible way to chase storms, FULL SPEED AHEAD!
Too much of a chance of loosing control of your vehicle. You would be surprised how fast you can hydroplane and lose control on wet pavement.
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