NSU campus mourns death of 5 students
Pickup ran off bridge outside Tahlequah
TAHLEQUAH — The atmosphere on the Northeastern State University campus was somber Monday after news spread that five students had died the night before in a crash south of Tahlequah.
Hundreds of students, faculty and staff members gathered at noon to remember the five who were killed when the vehicle they were in ran off a bridge and plummeted into a creek below.
Donovan Caldwell, 18, of Muskogee; Jessica Swartwout, 18, of McAlester; Drake Wells, 19, of Thackerville; Lily Murphy, 18, of Gentry, Arkansas; and Rhianna “Autumn” Seely, 18, of Salina — all freshmen at NSU — died Sunday night.
As the hundreds of mourners stood in silence, the campus clock tower’s bell tolled.
Students struggled to cope with the deaths of their peers. Some, though they did not know the five personally, shared in the sorrow. Others were coping with the loss of people who had become friends in the short time they had together on campus since the fall semester started last month.
“It didn’t really hit me until I walked into algebra class,” said Baylee Scrimshire, a freshman.
Caldwell was not there.
Scrimshire and Dylan Hurt were supposed to have the class with him at 8 a.m. Monday.
“I walked into class today, sat my bag down and looked at (Caldwell’s) chair,” Hurt said. “I turned around and walked right back out.”
Scrimshire walked out, too. Both had to deal with the fresh loss of a new friend.
Caldwell was driving a pickup south on Welling Road when the crash occurred about 4 miles south of Tahlequah about 10:40 p.m. Sunday, according to an Oklahoma Highway Patrol report.
Swartwout, Wells, Murphy and Seely were passengers. The truck struck a guardrail on the right side of the road, then came back onto the roadway and drove through a bridge railing on
the opposite side of Welling Road, according to the report. The vehicle fell about 35 feet, landing on its top in Baron Fork Creek. The truck submerged fully.
Emergency responders had to extricate all five students from the vehicle. Troopers said in their report that only Swartwout was wearing a seat belt.
Oil slicks remained Monday morning on the road and in the water where the pickup fell. Debris from the truck was floating near the creek’s bank.
Despite having been at NSU for only a short time, the five students touched the lives of those who gathered at the school Monday.
“I cannot fathom the pain the families and friends of these young people are going through as a result of this terrible and tragic accident,” NSU President Steve Turner said in a statement. “My thoughts and prayers are with them.”
NSU administrators made counseling services available to students and faculty.
A candlelight vigil was scheduled for Monday evening on campus. Contributing: Andrea Eger, Tulsa World staff writer