University of New Mexico football player, Markel Byrd, was killed in a single car crash on Tuesday and his girlfriend, who was riding in the car with him, is in critical condition.
School officials announced the sad news on the team’s website Tuesday.
“It is with heavy hearts and great sadness that we have to announce that yesterday afternoon we lost a member of our Lobo family,” the statement read. “Markel Byrd, a sophomore safety from San Diego, California, was tragically killed in a single car accident near Gallup, New Mexico on Tuesday, December 22. Byrd was driving home for the holidays with his girlfriend when their car suffered a blowout on I-40. Both parties were ejected from the vehicle. Markel died instantly. His passenger was taken to a local hospital where she was in critical condition.”
The school did not release the name of his girlfriend.
Byrd redshirted in 2013 and is tied for the team lead in interceptions this season.