3 University of Oklahoma students died in a car crash returning from storm chasing

3 University of Oklahoma students died in a car crash returning from storm chasing. 

On their way back from storm chasing in Kansas, three University of Oklahoma meteorology students were murdered in a car accident on Friday evening.

According to an Oklahoma Highway Patrol investigation, Nicholas Nair, 20, of Denton, Texas, Gavin Short, 19, of Grayslake, Illinois, and Drake Brooks, 22, of Evansville, Indiana, perished in the crash soon before 11:30 p.m. Friday.

According to the investigation, the three were in a vehicle being driven northbound on Interstate 35 by Nair when it hydroplaned. 

At the same time, it was hit by a tractor-trailer rig in Tonkawa, about 85 miles (137 kilometers) north of Oklahoma City.

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OU issued the following statement: “The institution is heartbroken to learn of three students’ terrible deaths. Each of them was a well-liked and respected part of our community.”

More than 1,000 buildings were damaged in south-central Kansas by a tornado with winds of up to 165 mph and a swath of destruction nearly 13 miles long.

The tornado that wreaked havoc on the Wichita suburb of Andover on Friday and injured multiple people was classified as an EF-3 on the Enhanced Fujita scale, according to the National Weather Service.

According to Andover Fire Chief Chad Russell, the storm destroyed at least 300 to 400 buildings out of a total of 1,074 that were damaged. 

According to the National Weather Service, the tornado lasted on the ground for 21 minutes.

During the storm, four individuals were hurt, including two firefighters responding to a call in Andover, but their injuries were minor.

Andover will take years to recover from the storm, according to Russell.

“This will have a long-term impact on the city of Andover,” he said. “We still bear the scars of 1991. (EF-5 tornado). I’m grateful that this tornado wasn’t as catastrophic as that, but we’ll be doing this for years.”

Utility technicians had virtually all of the 15,000 customers who lost power during the storm restored to power by Sunday. 

Only about 1,000 customers in the Wichita area were still without power Sunday morning, according to Evergy.