Deadly Crash Kills 2 Moms, Their Daughters

Ex-volleyball stars Carrie McCaw, Lesley Prather killed, along with their 2 respective daughters
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 17, 2020 8:41 AM CST
2 Ex-Volleyball Stars, 2 Young Daughters Killed in Crash
Photo from the Friday accident.   (YouTube)

"As a parent, as any other human being, it was horrific." That's how a woman who ran to help victims of a car accident in Missouri described the scene she encountered Friday to CBS 17—one that took the lives of two former volleyball stars and their respective 12-year-old daughters, all Louisville residents on their way to a club volleyball tourney. CNN reports that 40-year-old Lesley Prather, who once played for the University of Louisville, and her daughter Rhyan, as well as Syracuse University alum Carrie McCaw, 44, and her daughter Kacey, all died in the crash on Interstate 64 in St. Charles County. Per WLKY, the group's minivan and another vehicle were hit by a pickup truck that veered out of its lane and across the median. Prather and one of the 12-year-olds were pronounced dead at the scene, while McCaw and the second girl died at local hospitals, according to a crash report.

The Courier Journal notes the "void in Louisville's vibrant volleyball community that crosses generations," adding that both Prather and McCaw had been coaches with the Kentucky Indiana Volleyball Academy. Prather, a two-time All-Conference USA player, graduated from the University of Louisville in 2002 and was the head volleyball coach from 2009 to 2012 at Indiana University Southeast, where she never had a losing record, the school says in a statement, per CNN. McCaw was a record-breaking player for Syracuse from 1994 to 1997 and coached at Rutgers for a year before going on to a 20-year career with a law firm. Both women had four children each with their husbands. An investigation into the crash continues; no charges have been issued or arrests made, though a final crash report will be sent to the county's prosecuting attorney's office to see if charges are warranted. (More volleyball stories.)

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