PROVO — A group of Brigham Young University football recruits acted as good Samaritans to a girl involved in a car accident last weekend in Provo Canyon.
A group including a BYU administrator and his wife, two members of BYU's football staff and six recruits were returning from a snowmobiling activity near Sundance Mountain Resort around midday on Dec. 15 when they came upon the scene of an accident.
A 17-year-old female driver was traveling southbound on State Road 92 when her 2008 Toyota Highlander traveled off the roadway near milepost 26, slid down an embankment, rolled once and came to rest on its wheels in the riverbed, according to the Utah Highway Patrol accident report.
Matt Ah You, a defensive analyst, and Harvey Unga, a graduate assistant, were both driving vehicles. They saw the girl standing outside of her vehicle, visibly upset, trying to make a phone call. The group stopped to help, Ah You said.
BYU Vice President Matthew O. Richardson joined Ah You and Unga, both former Cougar football players, in climbing down the steep, snowy, 20-foot embankment. The recruits followed them down but Ah You advised them not to cross the stream for fear they might get hurt, he said.
I was so impressed. This is the type of young men we want to come to BYU. Our school is all about service and helping others. They truly showed it. – Matt Ah You
Ah You, who said he has a background in law enforcement, said the girl was in shock. He and Unga helped her across the stream and everyone formed a human chain to help her climb up the embankment, Ah You said.
Once the shaken driver was back on the roadway, Richardson's wife Lisa comforted her in a warm vehicle until emergency services arrived, Ah You said.
The girl was treated for minor injuries on the scene and not transferred to the hospital, said Sgt. Nick Street, a UHP public information officer.
Aside from praising Richardson's "super athletic ability in church clothes," Ah You came away impressed by the recruits and their selflessness in that situation.
"The amazing part of the story is we had a bunch of highly recruited kids on a recruiting trip and they were out of the car right behind me trying to climb down the mountain side," Ah You said. "I was so impressed. This is the type of young men we want to come to BYU. Our school is all about service and helping others. They truly showed it."
Jacob Conover, Chase Roberts, Caleb Christensen and Eric Ellison were among the recruits, Conover said. All four signed letters of intent to play for BYU on Wednesday.
"We were there at the right time for the right reason. We were able to help her out and make sure she was safe," Conover said. "That was an experience I don't think any of us will ever forget."