Texas A&M Player ‘Driving On No Sleep’ Killed In Overnight C

[Harry0569]

http://jalopnik.com/texas-a-m-player-dr ... -961952555

Texas A&M freshman football player Polo Manukainiu was driving from Utah to Texas yesterday from Utah. He Tweeted that he was doing it on no sleep. His car reportedly crashed outside Albuquerque, NM overnight and he was killed.

Details are scarce right now, but what we do know is that Manukainiu was on his way back from Utah. He was supposedly with four friends in the car. As the drive began, he tweeted this:

Overnight, his car crashed north of Albuquerque. MyFoxDFW reports that along with Manukainiu, two friends were also killed. Two other people in the car were injured.

There is no word as to the cause of the crash, so we aren't sure that it was related to exhaustion. No matter what, it's incredibly depressing that the 19-year old who joined A&M last year is no longer with us.

[StallionsModelT]

Terrible. Prayers to the family and friends of the young man. I always get spooked when I see friends on Facebook talking about these marathon driving trips that go 20 plus hours straight. Its just too long to be focused on the task at hand.

[Mustangsabu]

Tragic. Thoughts and prayers to their families and friends. And to his teammates.

[lwjr]

Horrible news. thoughts and prayers to the families.

[Cadillac]

I have had a few drives where I really needed to pull over along that same route. In fact, I nearly killed us all just North of Albuquerque driving South on 25.

Tragic news,

-CoS

[LA_Mustang]

All 3 killed were from Euless and went to Trinity HS according to the DMN. Terrible news.

[Insane_Pony_Posse]

Players killed in N.M. car crash:
July 30, 2013

By Mark Schlabach

College football players from Texas A&M and the University of Utah were killed in a single-car accident in northern New Mexico on Monday night, according to officials from both schools.


Courtesy of New Mexico State Police
Three people died in a one-car rollover on a northern New Mexico road on Monday night.
Polo Manukainiu, a redshirt freshman defensive lineman at Texas A&M, and Gaius Vaenuku, an incoming freshman defensive tackle at Utah, were killed in a rollover accident near Cuba, N.M. A third person in the car, Andrew Uhatafe, 13, also was killed.

New Mexico State Police said the accident occurred when the driver overcorrected and the vehicle rolled several times. Police said alcohol wasn't a factor, and it appears the driver was the only one in the car wearing a seatbelt.

Police said Manukainiu and Uhatafe were ejected from the vehicle and died at the scene. Vaenuku was transported from the scene, but was pronounced dead in an ambulance en route to a hospital.

Another incoming Utah freshman and passenger in the car -- offensive tackle Salesi Uhatafe -- survived, as did his father, Salesi Sr.

Salesi Uhatafe is Manukainiu's stepbrother and Andrew "Lolo" Uhatafe's brother.

"Everyone who knew Gaius is heartbroken today," Utah football coach Kyle Whittingham said Tuesday. "He was the kind of young man who lit up a room and his future in football and life had no boundaries. Words cannot express our devastation over the loss of Gaius. This is a sad day not only for University of Utah football, but for everyone whose lives Gaius crossed or would have crossed but for this tragedy. Our hearts go out to Gaius' and Salesi's families, and to the Texas A&M coaches and players. We are praying for the speedy recovery of Salesi and his father."

The college football players were all graduates of Trinity High School in Euless, Texas. They were apparently traveling from Utah to Texas. At about 7:30 a.m. ET Monday, Manukainiu posted the following on his Twitter account: "22 hour drive back to Texas on no sleep. Oh my."

"We lost a terrific young man," Texas A&M coach Kevin Sumlin said in a statement. "Polo was loved by his teammates and coaches. Anyone who came in contact with him was struck by his sense of humor and smile. My heart aches for his mom and family members."

The New Mexico State Police said its officers responded to a single-car rollover accident involving a 2002 white Toyota Sequoia SUV shortly before 9 p.m. ET Monday at mile marker 83 on U.S. 550, about 80 miles north of Albuquerque.

Manukainiu, 19, was redshirted at Texas A&M last season, but was expected to be involved in the Aggies' defensive line rotation this fall. ESPN 300 ranked him as the country's No. 33 defensive end prospect in 2012 after he helped lead Trinity High School to an undefeated regular season and the third round of the Texas Class 5A Division I playoffs. He had 43 tackles and 1½ sacks as a senior.

Vaenuku, 18, signed a national letter of intent in February to play football at Utah. ESPN 300 ranked him as the country's No. 33 defensive tackle, and he chose the Utes over scholarship offers from TCU, Texas, BYU, Arizona, Arizona State, Baylor and Boise State, among other schools.

Vaenuku, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, said earlier this year that he planned to play one season for the Utes before leaving for an LDS mission. He said Utah's LDS institute was one of the primary reasons he chose the Utes.

"I love the [LDS] institute building there," Vaenuku told the Deseret News of Salt Lake City in January. "That thing is huge and is going to really help me prepare well for my mission. Playing football isn't the most important thing for me right now -- serving a mission is and Utah has a great environment to help me prepare for that."

The players' teammates, and other college football coaches and players, offered their condolences on social media on Tuesday morning.

http://espn.go.com/college-football/sto ... -car-crash

[Dark Horse]

How awful. Thoughts are with the families of those who died and the survivors.

[SMU2007]

Always a tragedy when kids die before their lives really get started. RIP