Two Ohio State students died and two others were injured in a car crash while on spring break.
OSU students Brittney Gallagher and Courtney Miller were near Ebro in the Florida Panhandle Saturday morning when their car collided with a pickup truck after drifting into oncoming traffic, according to a report from the Associated Press.
Gallagher and Miller were both pronounced dead at the scene of the accident, according to the AP report.
Two other passengers in the backseat of the car, Diana Mitchell and Lauren Kane were hospitalized in critical condition. According to the AP report, they are also OSU students.
“We are absolutely devastated by the loss of our friends,” said Emily Zanin, a third-year in nursing, in an email. Zanin lives in a house with Mitchell and Kane and was friends with Gallagher and Miller.
“To say Courtney and Brittney will be missed is an understatement. They changed the lives of so many, and we feel honored to have known them. Our thoughts and prayers go out to their friends and family and for Lauren’s and Diana’s full recovery,” Zanin said.
Alcohol was reportedly not involved in the crash, and Gallagher and Miller were both wearing a seat belt, the report said.
OSU President E. Gordon Gee said from this Facebook account Sunday night that he was “so very saddened to learn of the tragic car accident in Florida this weekend. My thoughts and prayers are with the friends and loved ones of all those involved.”
Kelly Porter, the driver of the pickup truck, and four of her passengers were hospitalized, according to the report.
Porter was hospitalized in serious condition. Passengers Tyler Magar, Courtney Burnett and Matthew Gallant were hospitalized with serious injuries and Braden Solis with minor injuries.
Porter, Solis and Magar are students at Oklahoma State University. Gallant is a student at the University of Oklahoma, and Burnett is a student at Southeast Missouri State, according to the AP report.
Eric Wheeler, a fourth-year in management information systems, said he was also driving back from spring break in Florida on Saturday.
Wheeler and three friends left Panama City Beach, Fla., for Ohio at about 9:30 a.m. on Saturday. The drive took them about 12 hours, and they took turns driving, Wheeler said. They drove through some heavy traffic and passed an accident in Alabama.
“I heard about the accident, that’s terrible,” Wheeler said, though he did not personally know the students involved.
Representatives from the Florida Highway Patrol did not immediately return requests for comment.