Principal says 2 high school grads among 3 dead in Calif. crash in eastern Sierra Nevada

Principal: 2 high school grads among dead in crash

BISHOP, Calif. — A California university and a San Diego high school mourned Tuesday after a fiery crash killed three people and left 16 injured — many of them student-athletes — near the eastern Sierra Nevada.

Four people remained hospitalized in extremely critical condition, California Highway Patrol Officer Dennis Cleland said.

California Baptist University cheerleading coach Wendy Rice, 35, of Corona died when an out-of-control sport utility vehicle struck the van she was driving. The team was headed to a high-altitude training camp in Mammoth on Monday night, the Riverside school said.

Amanda Post and Natalie Nield, recent graduates of Cathedral Catholic High School in San Diego, were also killed, according to a notice posted on the school’s webside by Principal Michael Deely.

Officials at the university worked on a crisis response, and a memorial service could be held later.

“This kind of tragedy touches us in many ways,” university spokesman Mark Wyatt said.

Rice was starting her third year at the school, Wyatt said. She left a husband and two children.

“She was remembered for being loving and very caring,” Wyatt said. “And in fact, she was helping out with the cross-country team as a driver.”

The cause of the crash remained under investigation, but there was no evidence that alcohol or drugs were involved, Cleland said.

Three vans carrying about 45 members of the men’s and women’s cross-country teams at the university were on northbound U.S. Highway 395 a few miles from Bishop when a southbound Ford SUV with five people inside drifted onto the shoulder. The SUV then veered back, overturned and rolled through the center divider, striking the van and bursting into flames, the CHP said.

A Subaru traveling behind the vans also hit the flaming SUV.

The people in the SUV may have been runners, although it was unclear whether they were members of a team, Cleland said.

“They did have some athletic and running gear,” he said, noting that one of the SUV passengers was a minor.

A deputy pulled a man from the burning vehicle and went back for a second person who was screaming for help. The deputy couldn’t get back inside the SUV because of the flames and heat, according to a CHP report.

A third person who was burned and hurled from the SUV walked past the deputy then died on the pavement, the report said.

One student-athlete in the van and three people in the SUV were in extremely critical condition, Cleland said.

Two other Cathedral High graduates — Derek Thomas, 19, and Drew Constantine Delis, 22, both of Encinitas — were severely burned in the crash, said Deely, the high school principal.

The woman driving the Subaru suffered third-degree burns to her arm and had moderate injuries, Cleland said.

University students with serious injuries included Alicia Catanese, 21, of Corona, and Rebecca Trupp, 20, of Riverside.Delis, 22, both of Encinitas — were severely burned in the crash, Deely said.

The woman driving the Subaru suffered third-degree burns to her arm and had moderate injuries, Cleland said.

University students with serious injuries included Alicia Catanese, 21, of Corona, and Rebecca Trupp, 20, of Riverside.

At least six students were treated for minor injuries and released.

Students who were unharmed continued to the training camp and spent the night but cut short their scheduled weeklong stay and were expected to return to the school Tuesday.

The 4,100-student private university was mostly closed until the fall session begins on Sept. 1, although a few athletic and other programs continued.

(This version CORRECTS Updates with details, Corrects spelling of Catanese. Adds photo links)