WestConn lacrosse players killed in Colchester crash were ‘loved so much’
DANBURY — Students at Colchester schools and Western Connecticut State University continued to grieve on Monday for two students and lacrosse players killed in a car crash late last week
Jacob Chapman, 18, and Tyler Graham, 18, Colchester residents and freshmen at the university, were killed when the car Chapman was driving went off the road on Route 354 in Colchester Friday.
A third student, Trey Massaro, 19, was seriously injured and airlifted to Hartford Hospital. Details on Massaro’s condition were not available Monday.
Graham’s father, Jeffrey, said the family has “a lot of loved ones around us.” He noted that hundreds of people came to a vigil held Sunday evening in Colchester to remember the students.
“The kids were loved so much,” Jeffrey Graham said, declining to comment further. “It’s just so hard.”
Family members for Chapman and Massaro could not be reached on Monday.
As of Monday afternoon, nearly $60,000 combined had been raised for the families of Chapman and Graham through two GoFundMe pages.
Graham was pursuing a bachelor of business administration in management information systems at WestConn.
“Tyler aka Mambo was fierce on the lacrosse field but had a heart of gold,” his GoFundMe page states. “He will be missed so much by the Colchester community, his friends and his family.”
Chapman also studied business administration.
“He had a magnetic personality and anyone who met him couldn’t help but smile,” his GoFundMe page states. “He will be missed by the Colchester community and all his family and friends.”
Ken Houman, whose stepson is a freshman on the WCSU lacrosse team, said the two were good teammates. His stepson played against the two students in high school lacrosse and with Chapman through Shoreline Lacrosse, a travel club.
“They were just outgoing, funny, happy kind of guys,” he said.
Houman described Chapman’s “bubbly, outgoing personality,” recalling how the player, in the middle of games, would say hello to his wife who kept stats on the sidelines.
“Jake, pay attention to the game,” Houman said his wife would tell the teen.
“No, don’t worry, I just scored. I’m good,” Chapman replied, according to Houman.
Houman picked up his son, Seth Hurt, from WestConn
on Friday afternoon when he heard about the crash. They went to the vigil in Colchester on Sunday and then back to Hurt’s dorm at WestConn, where he lives next door to Chapman’s room and on the same floor as Graham and Massaro.
“That was pretty tough,” Houman said. “It was his first time walking into the dorm. He said to me several times, ‘It just feels like a bad dream that I can't wake up from.’ But he has spoken to counselors and he has a good family support system and a team support system.”
The lacrosse coach has spoken to Hurt and other players on the team, Houman said.
Western Connecticut State University plans to hold a memorial for the students, but has yet to set a date so as not to conflict with the funeral services, spokesman Paul Steinmetz said.
“We are continuing to work with students, both athletes across all teams, and residents of Litchfield Hall, where the three students lived on campus,” he said in an email. “More students are taking advantage of the counseling services on campus and we are waiting to hear about the schedule for services for Jake and Tyler.”
Counselors were available Monday at Colchester Public Schools, where
Graham and Chapman graduated from high school at Bacon Academy.
“This loss is devastating to our entire school community and our deepest condolences go out to the students’ families and loved ones,” Superintendent Jeffrey E. Burt said in a message to the school community.
He urged parents to speak their children and to contact school support staff if they or their children have concerns.
“This loss is sure to raise many emotions, concerns, and questions for our entire community,” he said. “Each of our schools has a Crisis Intervention
Team made up of professionals trained to help with the emotional needs of students, parents, and school personnel at difficult times such as this.”
State police said Monday that they had no new information on the crash, but that the investigation “remains active.”
Houman noted that lacrosse is known as the “medicine game.” It originated from Native American tribes and was a ceremonial event played in part for healing.
“That’s going to be very important for the boys going forward, is to use that as a medicine game to heal them,” he said.