KAUFMAN COUNTY, Texas — Trinity Valley Community College students, faculty, and alumni are mourning the loss of two freshman football players after they were killed in an early-morning crash on Monday.
KAUFMAN COUNTY, Texas — Trinity Valley Community College students, faculty, and alumni are mourning the loss of two freshman football players after they were killed in an early-morning crash on Monday.
The students were returning to campus from the Spring, Texas, area when they collided head-on with an 18-wheeler tanker in Freestone County, north of Fairfield, around 3:45 a.m.
Tyler Spillman and Bryce Cook were traveling northbound on FM 488 in Freestone County, approximately one-and-a-half miles north of FM 416, when their vehicle crossed the center median and into the path of a southbound 18-wheeler tanker, striking it head-on and bursting into flames, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety.
Spillman and Cook were pronounced deceased at the scene.
The driver of the 18-wheeler, a 56-year-old Fort Worth, Texas, man, was taken to Navarro County Medical Center in Corsicana, Texas, with non-life threatening injuries.
“We are saddened by the news that Cardinal football players Bryce Cook and Tyler Spillman have passed away,” read a statement from TVCC. “Their leadership on our football team and overall presence on our campus will be sorely missed.”
Cook, of Spring, Texas, a Westfield High School graduate, played five games for the Cardinals this season and accumulated five tackles, three solo, and recovered a fumble for a touchdown, according to the Trinity Valley Athletics page. Spillman, also of Spring, Texas, a graduate of Klein Collins High School, played two games for the Cardinals with five tackles, four solo, and one-and-a-half sacks.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with Bryce’s and Tyler’s families, friends and teammates during this difficult time,” continued TVCC’s statement.
