Twenty-five years ago, the University of Wyoming was still reeling five days after with the 9-11 terrorist attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people when another tragedy hit closer to home: Eight UW cross country runners were killed in a head-on collision with a drunk driver.
The accident happened on U.S. Highway 287 between Laramie and the Colorado border, on a section infamously known as the “Highway of Death” because of the many lives it has claimed.
After the crash, UW sophomore Anne Hedderman summed up for The Associated Press how the community was coping with the horrific national and local news: “It was blackness upon blackness.”
A quarter century later, memories of the eight crash victims who died — Cody Brown, 21, of Hudson; Kyle Johnson, 20, of Riverton; Joshua Jones, 22, of Salem, Oregon; Justin Lambert-Belanger, 20, of Timmins, Ontario; Morgan McLeland, 21, of Gillette; Kevin Salverson, 19, of Cheyenne; Nicholas Schabron, 20, of Laramie; and Shane Shatto, 19, of Douglas — have not faded from memory.
Far from it.
The UW community, families and friends and the entire state of Wyoming aren't allowing that to happen.
Bonding In Fort Collins
The young men traveled to Fort Collins after UW cancelled all classes in the wake of the 9-11 attacks. The teammates — all but three of the members of the close-knit squad — had shopped for running shoes together and visited nightclubs.
They were going back to Laramie for a fraternity party when they were struck head-on by a truck driven by Clinton Haskins, a member of UW’s rodeo team.
An autopsy revealed that the driver of the runners’ 1990 Jeep Wagoneer, Schabron, was sober, but tests showed that Haskins — who woke up in the hospital with no memory of the collision — had a blood-alcohol content of 0.16.
The legal limit then was 0.1. After the accident the Legislature lowered it to the current 0.08.
During a moment of silence at this past Saturday’s home football game against the University of Northern Colorado, a moment of silence was held in honor of the runners, whose names were flashed on the video scoreboard.
The Laramie campus has a permanent memorial garden with a plaque and boulder inscribed with “Come Run With Me” to remember the athletes.
On Wednesday, UW will send 20 athletes and its media team to Gillette, where the “Memory of the 8” 8-mile run is held every year in McLeland’s hometown. Runners from Douglas High School will also participate.
‘He Was Always A Leader’
“He was a great person and a great athlete,” remembers Morgan’s brother, Nathan, a Gillette city councilman. “Morgan was just one of those guys who inspired everyone around him. He was always a leader among his teammates.”
Nathan said Morgan loved studying about history and wanted to be a teacher.
“He had some struggles with education that he overcame, and he wanted to help others meet their educational goals,” Morgan told Cowboy State Daily on Tuesday. “That’s just how he was.”
Morgan was also the state high school cross country champion, and came from a family of runners.
“He was the best of us,” his brother said. “I had set a bunch of records in junior high, and he came behind me and broke them all.”
Born four years apart, they were both on the UW cross country team for a brief time but didn’t compete together because Morgan was a redshirt freshman.
“We were practicing one day and he was just right on my shoulder,” Nathan said. “I said, ‘Morgan, you can go around me, it’s not going to hurt my feelings.’ And he did.
“When he won that state championship, I could just see him coming up that hill in Douglas. I knew he was going to win that race when I saw him at the top.”
Nathan said their father Jim died in 2022, and they lost their mother Debbie two years ago.
“It’s hard without them this time of year,” he said. “They were both a big part of the ‘Memory of the 8.’ They loved seeing everyone and I think the community loved seeing them.”
Killer, Victim’s Mother Talked To Kids
Haskins pleaded guilty to eight counts of vehicular homicide and was concurrently sentenced to between 14 and 20 years in prison. He was paroled after serving 10.
While in prison, Haskins and Debbie McLeland teamed up to tell young people about the consequences of drinking and driving.
“When we talk, he adds a perspective to the program and a voice that’s different from mine,” Debbie McLeland told the Denver Post after one of their presentations. “It’s not about me just being a victim. To just stay stuck in hate, that doesn’t help me or help him or help others make better choices."
Nathan said he wants to meet some of the current members of the cross country team in Gillette and attend some of their future races.
“It’s really special that they’re coming up here,” he said.
Scott Dahlberg, UW’s head cross country coach, has been with the team for about 10 years.
He told Cowboy State Daily that it’s hard to find the right words to explain what the memorial in Gillette means to the athletes and coaches who participate, “but it’s something we want to keep as part of our memory to honor those boys.”
Dahlberg said he was a junior in high school east of Colorado Springs when he heard about the tragic accident.
“I think it hit more at home when I was a college runner and I had some teammates who knew more about it and had some connections (to UW),” he said.
Now, the coach said, it’s something that anyone who runs for UW will always keep in mind.
“We need to remind our athletes that the opportunities in front of us are special, and take care of each other and not take our lives for granted,” Dahlberg added. “They know that Sept. 16 is a tragic part of history, but it is still part of our history nonetheless and it’s important to carry on the memories of those athletes and honor them.”
Kerry Drake can be reached at: Kerry.Drake33@gmail.com
