Five James Madison University students involved in deadly West Virginia crash
2 pupils keep on being in clinic with lifestyle-threatening injuries
HARRISONBURG, Va. (WRIC) — A few James Madison College (JMU) pupils have been killed in a tragic West Virginia motor vehicle crash Thursday night time and two other individuals have been despatched to the clinic in critical issue, the university announced Friday.
The solitary-vehicle crash occurred around 10:30 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 2, on Route 259, in close proximity to the West Virginia/Virginia line after the southbound car ran off the road and hit a tree. Of the five learners, 3 reportedly died at the scene, while the two many others — the driver and an supplemental passenger — were med-flighted to the medical center in crucial ailment, according to the Hardy County Sheriff’s Workplace. All 5 learners had been 19-year-outdated males.
JMU reported the college students despatched to the clinic with existence-threatening injuries are continue to in the clinic as of Friday.
“The college is at this time doing the job to verify details with area authorities and the family members of the students,” JMU said in a letter to the university from the desk of Tim Miller, vice president for university student affairs. “Families of the learners have been notified of the incident and the university is doing work to provide extra guidance.”
At 4:30 p.m., JMU introduced an additional letter detailing the names of the 3 learners who have been killed:
-John “Luke” Fergusson (sophomore, majoring in media arts and design from Richmond)
-Nicholas Troutman (sophomore, majoring in company administration from Richmond)
-Joshua Mardis (sophomore, majoring in interaction scientific studies from Williamsburg)
“These a few youthful adult men will generally be remembered as Dukes and will without end be in our hearts,” the letter reads. “In addition, you should retain the two other students concerned, who were being also wounded and are at the moment hospitalized from this incident, in your ideas.”
The Hardy County Sheriff’s Office claimed the road problem at the time of the crash was dry, and it was a very clear night exterior.
“The had been no indications of skid or yaw marks noted on the roadway area indicating any kind of evasive steps and no indications of an animal staying struck,” the sheriff’s workplace reported in a launch.
The college claims a lot more updates will be shared as information gets to be offered.
“It is incredibly tricky to course of action and understand unexplainable incidents these kinds of as this,” the university wrote. “Please know we are right here to support you and inquire every of you to lean on a single an additional.”
The sheriff’s office said the students had been at a club prior to the crash but did not say regardless of whether liquor was a factor.
“The JMU local community grieves for our learners shed and wounded in a tragic auto incident, for their families, close friends and all who understood them,” a statement from JMU President Jonathan R. Alger reads. “Please help each and every other and know that the college is listed here to assistance you as properly.”
In an Instagram write-up on Friday, the Harrisonburg Chapter of the Pi Beta Chi fraternity also released a assertion.
“As numerous of you know, numerous of our mates were in a tragic incident Thursday evening and three of them handed absent and two others are recovering in the healthcare facility. Our hearts are damaged for these young gentlemen, their households, their property communities, and for anyone right here at JMU whose life they touched,” the statement reads. “We would like to talk to for privacy as we mourn those we have lost and aid the two youthful guys who are recovering … remember to search out for every other and keep your friends a little closer in the coming times.”
The college presented the following checklist of sources to the neighborhood:
-JMU’s Counseling Centre or 540-568-6552
–Emergency Assistance Products and services