LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) – Kentucky freshman guard Terrence Clarke died Thursday following a car accident in Los Angeles. He was 19.
The university announced Clarke’s death in a release Thursday night, but did not include any more details. Coach John Calipari said he was “absolutely gutted and sick tonight” and called the player “a beautiful kid, someone who owned the room with his personality, smile and joy.”
“We are all in shock,” Calipari said. “I am on my way to Los Angeles to be with his mother and his brother to help wherever I can. This will be a difficult period for all those who know and love Terrence, and I would ask that everyone take a moment tonight to say a prayer for Terrence and his family. May he rest in peace.”
Los Angeles Police Department Sergeant John Matassa, who works in the Valley Traffic Division, told ESPN that Clarke was a solo occupant in a vehicle that ran a red light going “at a very high rate of speed” in the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles at approximately 2:10 p.m. PDT.
Matassa said surveillance video showed that Clarke collided with another vehicle preparing to turn left, hit a street light pole and then a block wall. Clarke was taken to Northridge Hospital Medical and later pronounced dead.