Two former college volleyball stars and their 12-year-old daughters were killed in a car crash in Missouri on Friday morning.
Carrie Urton McCaw, 44, and Lesley Drury Prather, 44, were driving to a volleyball tournament in Kansas City with their daughters, Kacey McCaw and Rhyan Prather, when their minivan was struck by a pickup truck. The pickup truck had veered into oncoming traffic just outside of Lake St. Louis, Missouri, and collided with their car and another vehicle, according to NBC St. Louis affiliate KSDK-TV.
The other vehicle that was hit had two people inside, both of whom were hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries.
The driver of the pickup truck was hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries, according to KSDK.
Both McCaw and Prather were accomplished athletes.
Prather played for the University of Louisville Cardinals volleyball team from 1998 to 2001, helping to lead the team to three conference championships and four NCAA appearances, according to a statement from the school.
“We are heartbroken for those lost in the tragic auto accident yesterday traveling to a volleyball tournament,” said Vince Tyra, the vice president for athletics at the University of Louisville. “It directly impacted our volleyball community in many ways to include Sarah Petkovic, our Director of Operations for Volleyball. She lost her sister and former Cardinal Lesley Prather, and niece, Rhyan, in the accident.”
McCaw was a standout athlete at Syracuse University from 1994 to 1997 who set the school record for matches played in a season, according to a statement from the school.
McCaw, Prather and their daughters were from Louisville, Kentucky. Kacey and Rhyan played volleyball on the same KIVA (Kentucky Indiana Volleyball Academy) Sports club.
“Our hearts are heavy with the loss of four beautiful souls in Carrie and Kacey McCaw and Lesley and Rhyan Prather,” wrote KIVA Sports on Facebook. “Our KIVA families will never be the same and we send prayers and love to all of the families touched by this tragedy.”
In a second post, the club shared photos of its members reflecting “on the loss of 4 beautiful souls from our KIVA Volleyball family.”
McCaw’s former high school honored her in a post Saturday afternoon.
“The community of Assumption joins with the St. Raphael and KIVA communities as we mourn the tragic loss of Carrie Urton McCaw ‘94, her daughter Kacey and their dear friends Lesley and Rhyan Prather,” wrote the high school. “We send our deepest condolences, thoughts, and prayers to the McCaw and Prather families.”
“Our parish and school community have suffered a tragic loss with the accident that claimed the lives of Carrie and Kacey McCaw,” read a Facebook post from the St. Raphael the Archangel Catholic Church in Louisville. “Carrie and Kacey were full of life and witnesses to Christ’s love through the way they lived their lives and served our parish. There are no words that will describe accurately the void that is left for their family, friends, and our community.”
Prather had joined the Louisville Fire Department in 2016, according to the department's Facebook page.
"Lesley joined the LFD family in October 2016, spending her entire career serving west Louisville. Lesley’s brother-in-law, Sash Petkovic, currently serves as a Firefighter with the Division. This is a terribly sad time for the Louisville Division of Fire and the entire community," its post read.
Funeral and service arrangements have not yet been finalized, according to NBC Louisville affiliate WAVE-TV.