Updated November 11th, 9:15 pm

On Friday October 22nd, 2021, the WCSU community received word from President Clark that three players from the Men’s Lacrosse Team were involved in a traffic accident in Colchester, CT earlier in the day. Two of the students, now confirmed to be Jacob Chapman and Tyler Graham, died at the scene, while the third, Trey Massaro, was airlifted to Hartford hospital and is expected to recover. Local police say the details and cause of the accident are under investigation.

According to information released by the University, all three were first year students. Jacob, a Business Management major, and Tyler, majoring in Management Information Sciences, were both eighteen years old and Colchester locals. Trey, nineteen years old from Dalton, MA, is majoring in Justice and Law Administration. Local officials were quick to offer condolences to the families and the campus community. A local vigil was held for Jake and Tyler in Colchester Sunday evening, NBC Connecticut reports.

The WCSU counseling center remains continuously available to any students or community members affected by this tragedy. President Clark stated in his email “We continue to mourn the loss of two of our promising young students and hope for a strong recovery for Trey.” The WestConn Men’s lacrosse team shared a statement on social media stating in part “There’s no playbook or man-up play that teaches us how to deal with losing two of our teammates, and words cannot adequately express what we are feeling right now. The only thing we can do now is to do our best to honor their character and commitment by being the best versions of ourselves.” The team also released a video tribute on YouTube.

In their statement the team suggested in lieu of flowers, Tyler’s loved ones would like you to consider a donation payable to the Tyler Graham Foundation. The Chapman family requests that donations to honor Jake’s memory be made Colchester Youth Lacrosse or Bacon Academy Boys Lacrosse Team c/o Bacon Academy Athletics, “to benefit other youth to enjoy the game of lacrosse as he did.”

Jacob Chapman’s service was held on Monday, November 1st at 3:00 PM at Aurora-McCarthy Funeral Home. Tyler Graham’s service was held on Friday, October 29th at 4:00 PM at St. Andrew Catholic Church. Jacob and Tyler’s services are being considered official events for the purposes of attendance policy. Students who missed classes to attend may fill out a Missed Classes form previously sent out by email, also available here.

A candlelight vigil open to the public was held Wednesday, November 3rd in the Western Athletic Complex (WAC) on the Westside Campus at 4:30 p.m. The WestConn Men’s Lacrosse team played a scrimmage after the vigil to celebrate the lives of their teammates Tyler and Jake. President Clark remarked “we will not forget these two young men and will continue to remember them at each game the Men’s Lacrosse Team plays as well as the 2025 Commencement, when they would have graduated” also thanking the numerous members of the WCSU community who enabled the event. CSCU President Cheng also made an appearance to convey his personal consolations to family members and students.