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2 College Freshman Baseball Players Killed in Car Crash Hours After Winning a Championship

Baseball Players
Baseball Players

Two baseball players from LaGrange College died in a car crash hours after their team won a conference championship over the weekend.

On Saturday evening, Stephen Bartolotta and Jacob Brown were killed in the tragic accident, LaGrange College President Dr. Susanna Baxter said in a news release on the team's website Sunday.

"Coming on the heels of the team's conference championship win yesterday, this news hits our baseball players especially hard," she said. "There simply are no words."

Baxter added that the school has "trained faculty and staff on hand to meet with those of you who would like that support either individually or in groups," adding: "We will walk through this together as a campus family with God as our strength. Please support one another as the caring community that I know we are."

Both Bartolotta, 18, and Brown, 19, were listed as freshmen on the LaGrange College athletics website.

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Another man who was also involved in the car crash, Rico Dunn, reportedly died later at a hospital, FOX 5 Atlanta reported.

According to the outlet, which cited the Georgia State Patrol, the incident took place around 9:15 p.m. local time.

There, police said three vehicles were involved — a silver 2015 Honda Accord, a gray 2019 Honda Accord and a 2008 GMC Sierra.

The 2015 Honda Accord allegedly passed the 2019 Honda Accord in a no-passing zone, striking the 2008 GMC Sierra head-on. The GMC Sierra then reportedly overturned into a median.

A representative for the Georgia State Patrol did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment.