At least five people were killed in a plane crash late Monday night when a private plane was returning to Bloomington Airport from the NCAA basketball national championship in Indianapolis.
According to ESPN’s Jeff Goodman, Illinois State assistant coach Torrey Ward was among those who lost their lives.
Ward, who was promoted to associate head coach of the Redbirds men’s basketball team last year, was reportedly traveling with a small group of boosters and other passengers when the plane hit heavy fog over central Illinois. Scott Barrows, the father-in-law of the plane’s owner, told the Chicago Tribune that his son-in-law, Scott Bittner, was among those who were killed.
“My daughter’s husband and three other men and the pilot went to the NCAA game last night and they were flying back and I guess the weather was bad in central Illinois,” Barrows explained. “It was foggy.
“They were supposed to land around midnight. My daughter was called at 4 a.m. There was no contact. It has been confirmed they are dead.”
Ward played college ball at UAB, where he appeared in 110 games and scored nearly 800 points from 1997 through 2000. Our thoughts are with Ward’s family and all those who were affected by the tragedy.
