A team road trip turned into a nightmare Thursday when a snowplow slammed into a van carrying a Southern California youth hockey team in Colorado, killing one of the players’ dads and injuring several young athletes and adults, according to reports.

The Santa Clarita Lady Flyers, a girls ice hockey team of 12-and-under players from the Santa Clarita Valley, were headed to a Western Girls Hockey League tournament near Denver when tragedy struck in the morning on Interstate 70 in Clear Creek County, NBC reported.

The van driver, who was killed in the crash, was the father of a player on the team. NBC Los Angeles

Download The California Post App, follow us on social, and subscribe to our newsletters

California Post News: Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X, YouTube, WhatsApp, LinkedIn
California Post Sports Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, X
California Post Opinion
California Post Newsletters: Sign up here!
California Post App: Download here!
Page Six Hollywood: Sign up here!

Authorities identified the fatality as the team van’s driver, who was the father of one of the players.

He was pronounced dead at the scene.

“Our 12AA Lady Flyers were on their way to Denver, Colorado, to participate in a WGHL weekend,” the hockey club wrote on Instagram after the crash. “We ask that you keep our hockey families in your prayers and that you give them time to sort through the details of this tragic event.”

Of the 10 people aboard the van, eight were reportedly injured.

Girls’ hockey team from Santa Clarita involved in fatal car crash in Colorado. NBC Los Angeles

The California Post is here. Sign up for Morning Report.

Get the perfect blend of news, sports and entertainment delivered to your inbox every day.

Thanks for signing up!

“This is the kind of thing you hear about on the news, but it’s never someone you know or people you know,” Prescott Littlefield, president of the Santa Clarita Flyers told NBC. “It just completely knocked me back, knocked the wind out of me.”

Several juvenile players were hurt, and one was airlifted by helicopter to a trauma center in critical condition. Others were taken by ambulance to area hospitals, outlets reported.

Of the 10 people aboard the van, eight were reportedly injured. NBC Los Angeles

The van was rented by three families from the team, KTLA reported. Parents of the team at their home rink in Valencia told the station of how hard the tragedy has hit the other kids.

“She was distraught,” team hockey dad Serge Zarubin about his daughter. “It’s understandable. It’s hard for them. It’s hard on grownups. It’s even harder for the kids.”  

The team plays out of The Cube Ice and Entertainment Center, according to their website.