Harrison High School football alum among survivors of Indiana State fatal crash
LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Omarion Dixon, a standout running back at Harrison High School, was one of the two survivors of a Sunday morning accident that killed two members of Indiana State football team, according to the Associated Press.
The crash occurred around 1:30 a.m. Sunday in Riley, Ind., the AP reported, when the vehicle left a state highway and struck a tree.
Indiana State University identified the three who died as Christian Eubanks, 18, of Waukegan, Illinois; Jayden Musili, 19, of Fort Wayne, Indiana; and Caleb VanHooser, 19, of Liberty Township, Ohio.
2020 Offensive Player of the YearHarrison's Omarion Dixon
The driver and two passengers were pronounced dead at the scene, the AP reported, although authorities have not identified who was driving.
On Sunday night, a post on the Harrison High School football Twitter account identified Dixon, a 2021 graduate of Harrison and a redshirt freshman at Indiana State, as being involved in Sunday's accident and that he "is out of surgery and still needs all the prayers he can get."
The AP listed Dixon and another survivor, John Moore, of Wheaton, Illinois, as injured.
University President Deborah J. Curtis, in a statement, said "the Sycamore family is mourning."
"It is a terrible day for Indiana State football and a devastating loss for both the Eubanks and the VanHooser families," football coach Curt Mallory said in a statement. "Both young men were quality individuals who were loved and respected by their teammates and this staff. To say they will be missed is an understatement."
The vehicle was reportedly on fire when first responders arrived at the scene.
"Two of the occupants were able to be freed from the vehicle," the Vigo County Sheriff's Office said, "and were transported for medical treatment with serious injuries. Unfortunately, the driver and two other occupants were pronounced deceased on the scene."
Dixon, named one of the state's top 50 overall players by the Indiana Football Coaches Association and was the Journal & Courier Big School Offensive Player of the Year, averaged 9.4 yards per carry in the fall 2020 season, rushing for 1,516 yards and 26 touchdowns while also catching seven passes for 127 yards and a score, the J&C reported in 2021.
A GoFundMe account had been set up Monday to "help the family of Omarion Dixon with recovery," and the initial goal of $5,000 was surpassed by donations.
"He will have a very long recovery and the family will need to travel back and forth from Indianapolis to be by his side as well as miss work among other medical expenses," stated the organizer of the GoFundMe account. "If you are able to help take a burden off of this family to help with rent or housing, transportation, gas, meals etc while they remain by his side please give from your heart. This young man is a fighter and he often has the deck stacked against him. Please come together in love to let him know we are all praying and sowing into his recovery."
The new goal of $10,000 had nearly been met as of Tuesday morning.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Omarion Dixon among survivors of fatal crash near ISU
