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LOGAN — After a long night in the hospital following a car accident, some good news came Saturday afternoon about five Utah State student-athletes who were injured in a car accident Friday night.
USU defensive linemen Travis Seefeldt, Adewale Adeoye, Edmund Faimalo and John Taylor, as well as former softball player Sarah Vasquez, were in stable condition at different hospitals after their car accident in Trenton left many of them in critical condition, according to a statement from USU athletics Saturday afternoon.
None of the five will be released from the hospital Saturday, the statement added.
Seefeldt and Vasquez were listed in critical condition through the early afternoon hours, but both were also improving, according to various reports. Utah State coach Matt Wells told KSL Friday night that Seefeldt, a 22-year-old senior who is expected to start at nose guard this fall, may have some broken ribs, but is otherwise doing well in his ordeal.
According to Utah State softball coach Steve Johnson, Vasquez's road to recovery remains long — but she is also doing well, he said via Twitter.
6/27 PM update in Sarah Vasquez...improving by the hr..dr's fixing the broken parts..spent time w/her 2day alert and w/family! #keeppraying — Steve Johnson (@USUSBCoach) June 27, 2015
Johnson said Vasquez underwent surgery late Friday night and Saturday morning, but the surgeries were for non-life-threatening injuries.
Wells also tweeted his support for the recent softball graduate.
Please continue to lift Sarah up in your prayers too as she is fighting strong through all this. @USUSBCoach#AggieFamily — Matt Wells (@CoachWellsUSUFB) June 27, 2015
Redshirt freshman Adeoye, redshirt junior Faimalo and senior Taylor were all transported to Cache County hospitals with non-life threatening injuries. Seefeldt was airlifted to Ogden's McKay-Dee Hospital, where he was treated and met by Wells and other teammates, as well as family members who came from his hometown in Peoria, Arizona.
The 22-year-old Seefeldt was expected to be a major piece of Utah State's defense next season after compiling 35 tackles, 25 tackles for loss and two sacks as a junior in 2014. Taylor also received time off the bench, but Adeoye and Faimalo redshirted the 2014 season.
Vasquez exhausted her eligibility at Utah State following the 2014 spring season. The 22-year-old outfielder is from Colton, California, the same hometown as Taylor. Adeoye is from St. Louis and Faimalo is from Riverside, California.
The athletes were returning from nearby Newton Dam Reservoir Friday afternoon when the Chevy Tahoe Seefeldt was driving slowed at a stop sign at state Route 142 and proceeded into the path of a semi-truck on Route 23, thinking the area was a four-way stop, according to witnesses.
The semi, which was carrying 52,000 pounds of milk, attempted to swerve but struck the SUV on the driver's side and pushed it 75 yards into a nearby yard, according to a police report.
None of the five athletes were wearing a seatbelt, according to police.
