Holy Cross coach turned into traffic, witnesses said

WORCESTER, Mass. (AP) — The driver in the crash that resulted in the death of a Massachusetts college student turned left into oncoming traffic before the fatal collision, witnesses said.

Patrick Diggins, 55, the coach of the Holy Cross rowing team, allegedly blurted out a prayer moments after last week’s horrific crash in Florida that injured 13 people and killed Holy Cross rower Grace Rett, The Boston Globe reported Thursday.

“Please let me have had a green light,” Diggins said, according to a police report released Thursday. “Did I have a green arrow? God please let me have had a green arrow.”

Witnesses from the scene told police that Diggins had turned left on a green light and failed to yield to oncoming traffic, resulting in the early morning crash in Vero Beach, Florida, on Jan 15.

The 22 members of the Holy Cross crew and its coaches were traveling in a two-van convoy, heading to practice at a nearby training camp when the crash happened.

The coach made the remark spontaneously in the presence of a police officer, as medical professionals rushed to

assist the team in the passenger vehicle.

The police report stated that the traffic light at the intersection included both a green signal and a green arrow signal. Witnesses told officials Diggins turned left on green, but without the arrow that would have given him the clear right of

way.

The investigation into the crash by Florida authorities continued Thursday as they await the results of an autopsy and do additional interviews with witnesses, said Officer Darrell Rivers, spokesman for the Vero Beach Police Department.