College basketball star Deng Mayar died on Aug. 16 in a drowning accident in Utah, per Fox 13. The University of Nebraska-Omaha player was 22 years old.
What Happened to Deng Mayar?
Mayar was swimming with a friend at Blackridge Reservoir in Herriman, about 20 miles south of Salt Lake City, on Saturday when he was reportedly caught in a strong current just before 6 p.m. local time. Mayar’s friend was able to safely reach the shore before he realized that Mayar was still in the water. His companion ventured back into the water to find Mayar, but could not locate him. The friend was later rescued from the water by the Unified Fire Authority.
“It was scary. We saw the police running past us with a stretcher, and there was a person on there who was really pale and wasn’t moving,” recalled witness Hudsyn Sandoval.
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Who Was Deng Mayar?
Mayar, who was raised in Salt Lake City, was a rising college basketball star who was transferred to Omaha from the North Dakota Fighting Hawks this summer. “Our entire program is devastated to learn of Deng’s passing,” Omaha men’s basketball coach Chris Crutchfield said in a statement to ESPN. “After competing against him for two years, we were elated to add him to our team, and he made tremendous progress this summer. He was a joy to be around and made our culture better. We will miss him greatly. I, along with our entire program, send our hearts and prayers to Deng’s family, friends, and teammates.”
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