Two High School Runners Were Tragically Killed In A Hit & Run During Practice

• Six members of the Moore High School cross-country and track teams were hit by a truck Monday as they started practice.
• Senior Rachel Freeman and sophomore Yuridia Martinez were killed, while four others were hospitalized with serious injuries.
• A memorial fund for the victims and their families has been set up.

Two students are dead and four are seriously injured after a driver reportedly hopped a curb outside of Moore High School in Moore, Oklahoma, and struck members of the cross-country and track team as they were starting their practice run after school.

Moore Police stated that they responded to the scene around 3:30 p.m. on Monday. There, students and staff were administering life-saving care, including CPR. The driver of the truck, Max Townsend, allegedly fled the scene and was taken into custody by Moore Police three blocks away.

All six students were rushed to the hospital. One of the students, Rachel Freeman (pictured above), a senior, died at the scene. Freeman was reportedly going to sign a scholarship offer to run for Ouachita Baptist University in Arkansas on Wednesday.

Two others were in critical condition, including Yuridia Martinez, a sophomore, who died Tuesday morning from her injuries. The other, Kolby Crum, a senior, was still in critical condition as of Wednesday.

The other three students—Joseph White, a senior, Shiloh Hutchinson, a junior, and Ashton Baza, a sophomore—suffered injuries from road rash to broken bones.

“Our hearts are heavy in Moore Public Schools as we process this tragedy that is unbearable to comprehend. While members of the Moore High School (MHS) Track team were running on the sidewalk, six of them were violently struck by a vehicle,” Moore Public Schools Superintendent Robert Romines said in a statement posted on Facebook Monday night. “Please keep our students, staff, and families in your thoughts and prayers.”

No charges have officially been brought forward because of the open investigation and conditions of the victims. Townsend was arrested at the scene for manslaughter, and a judge set his bond at $1 million on Tuesday.

There is no indication of what compelled Townsend to do this. Police did say that his 28-year-old son was killed days before in a hit and run.

In response, teammates created a small memorial at the site of the incident outside of the school. Moore High School also held a vigil at 6 p.m. Tuesday night in the school’s gym.

“Yesterday, we had a bad day,” Moore High School Athletics Director Chad Mashburn said during the vigil. “Moore has had a lot of bad days, and it hasn’t defined us. It’s made us stronger, and that’s what we need right now. We need each other. We need everyone to work harder for each other so that we can represent those two young ladies and those kids who were in the accident because that’s who we are. We are Moore.”

The school’s alumni association has also stepped in to create a memorial fund for the victims and their families. Anyone interested in donating can do so here.

A GoFundMe has also been set up by the Martinez family to help cover funeral costs. That can be found here.

“We are so grateful for all the prayers, phone calls and e-mails from everyone supporting our family right now,” the Martinez family shared in a statement through the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City. “We are living in a horrible dream that we can’t wake up from. We were blessed for 16 years with an amazing baby girl who filled our home and our lives with joy and fun and beauty.

“Yuridia had a heart for service and helping people in need. She loved her friends and adored her sisters. This is so difficult. We miss her very much. Please continue to pray for us, for Yuridia, and for the children and families suffering this loss.”

In addition, a GoFundMe has been set up for Crum, who is still in critical condition. All funds will go to his family to help cover medical costs. Donations for that can be made here.

The local community has come together in the wake of the incident. Holley Mangham, public relations volunteer for the Moore War Run, a 5K held as a rivalry event between local high schools that Freeman won in 2017 as a sophomore and took third in the past two years, said the news has hit the running community hard.

“From a runner’s perspective, it’s hard to believe that you can be as safe as you want to be in a safe environment and with a group and this happens,” Mangham told Runner’s World. “We just lost another local runner in November who was 64, and now this. It’s just surreal for the people of our community. It’s kind of unbelievable.”

—This story will be updated.

From: Runner’s World US

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