Former College Volleyball Stars and Their Daughters, 12, Killed in Car Crash
Two former college volleyball stars and their 12-year-old daughters were killed in a fatal car crash Friday in Missouri, CNN, CBS News, and Harrison Daily reported.
Carrie Urton McCaw, 44, and her daughter, 12-year-old Kacey McCaw, and Lesley Drury Prather, 44, and her daughter, 12-year-old Rhyan Prather, all died in the head-on crash, which took place near Lake Saint Louis.
The foursome were on their way to a weekend club volleyball tournament in Kansas City when their minivan and another car was struck by a pickup truck, according to a statement on the Louisville Cardinals’ website.
Missouri Highway Patrol Cpl. Dallas Thompson told CBS News that the pickup driver suffered minor injuries that were not believed to be life-threatening, while the two people in the other car suffered no serious injuries.
Prather, 44, played volleyball for the Cardinals at the University of Louisville from 1998 to 2001. She led the team to three conference championships, four NCAA appearances and a Sweet Sixteen appearance.
We are heartbroken to hear of the passing of Cardinal Forever Lesley Drury Prather (98-01) and her daughter, Rhyan.
Our thoughts are with all of those affected by the fatal crash. pic.twitter.com/p6zkrzs79m— Louisville Volleyball (@UofLVolleyball) February 15, 2020
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“This will never, ever, ever make sense. I can’t wrap my head around this. I’m struggling to put into words how beautiful and powerful of a human Lesley was. She was such a fierce yet loving soul and someone I always looked up to. Lesley is the type of superhuman we should truly all aspire to be,” Dr. Stacey Mercer, a former teammate of Prather’s, said in a statement.
Prather joined the Louisville Metro Fire Department four years ago, according to the department’s statement on Twitter.
She is survived by her husband Justin and their other children.
— Louisville Fire Dept (@loukyfire) February 15, 2020
McCaw, also 44, played volleyball at Syracuse from 1994 to 1997 and was a team captain her senior year, the university said in a statement. She set the Syracuse record for matches played in a season and is second in career matches played.
The Syracuse Athletics family is deeply saddened by the tragic passing of volleyball alumnae Carrie Urton McCaw ’98, and her daughter, Kacey. Our thoughts are with their families and those affected by the fatal crash during this incredibly difficult time.https://t.co/1FxPBbEVGD pic.twitter.com/2hgi1i7cUU
— Syracuse Volleyball (@CuseVB) February 15, 2020
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After graduating from Syracuse, she spent one year as an assistant volleyball coach at Rutgers before starting her career at Ice Miller LLP as a practice group specialist in their collegiate sports practice conducting athletics department operations and programmatic reviews.
McCaw is survived by her husband David and her four children.
