An Oakland native and rising basketball star has died in a fiery crash along I-5 in California’s Central Valley.
Oscar Frayer was a senior at tiny Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, having just played for the team in a first round NCAA Tournament loss against Iowa only three days prior. It was Grand Canyon’s first-ever appearance in March Madness.
The crash happened Tuesday at about 2:30 a.m. on I-5 near Lodi.
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The California Highway Patrol said that two officers were assisting a disabled tractor trailer on I-5 southbound when an approaching SUV veered off the road and smashed into the back of their patrol car. The SUV then hit a tree and burst into flames. All three people riding in the SUV, including Frayer, were killed.
According to KPIX-5, it’s not known who was driving the SUV.
It’s not clear if drugs and alcohol were factors in the wreck, officials said.
Frayer, 23, had returned to California to visit family and friends.
He played at Hayward's Moreau Catholic High School, averaging 14.7 points and 9.1 rebounds per game from 2012 to 2016. The fifth-year senior at Grand Canyon University averaged 6.6 points and 2.5 rebounds this past season.
Tragically, Frayer’s father was also killed in a car crash.
"I want many stories to be told about the humanness of him," Frayer’s longtime mentor, Chris Major, told the station. "The kind of man he was, the kind of person he was beyond just stardom. He was very human and he carried himself with a tremendous amount of dignity."
As reported by the San Francisco Chronicle, the San Joaquin County Coroner’s Office confirmed Andrea Moore, 28, of Stockton, also died in the crash. Moore is identified as Frayer’s sister on his Facebook page.
The identity of the third person killed has not yet released.
Update (10:10 a.m.): Grand Canyon University men's basketball head coach Bryce Drew, a former college basketball star himself, has released a statement on Frayer's untimely passing.
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