Just a few weeks ago, BYU and Texas Tech fans came together to help a Red Raider family in crisis. Now, just a few days before their next matchup, Texas Tech fans are trying to give some of that kindness back to a pair of Cougar fans after a tragic accident.
On Nov. 26, Gavin and Katie Cornia were in a head-on collision near Lehi. Gavin Cornia died at the scene. Katie Cornia, who was life-flighted to the hospital, is now facing a long, painful recovery.
Her sister, Britney Petersen, said she first learned something was wrong when her phone buzzed with an automated alert.
“I received a text message from her phone saying that a crash was detected and it sent me her location,” Petersen told the Deseret News.
Petersen, her mother, daughter and another sister rushed to the scene, where the road was already closed. “We waited with the police officers … and after about 30 or 45 minutes of waiting to have them be identified, we were told about what had happened.”
Katie Cornia was intubated and placed under sedation before she reached the hospital. In the days that followed, doctors discovered a long list of serious injuries and began a series of surgeries.
She was then transferred to a health rehabilitation facility on Wednesday and she is now working in physical therapy so she can be in a wheelchair to attend Gavin Cornias funeral next week.
The couple was married Aug. 23, 2024 and they recently bought their first house together.
Gavin Cornia was a devoted BYU fan — the kind who collected hundreds of commemorative game cups until he and a friend had enough to stack them into a massive tower, Petersen said. Katie Cornia graduated from the University of Utah, but with her husband, she embraced cheering on both sides.
A wave of help from Texas Tech and BYU fans
In the days since the crash, thousands of people — many identifying themselves as BYU or Texas Tech fans — have shared the GoFundMe link and messages of support. Local sports radio host Hans Olsen and other BYU fan accounts began urging sports fans to help the couple, amplifying Petersen’s fundraiser.
By Thursday afternoon, donations had climbed past $60,000 from over 1,000 donors, up from just over $28,000 earlier in the day. The stated goal is now $90,000 to help cover surgeries, rehabilitation, funeral costs and living expenses as Katie Cornia grieves and heals.
On X, Red Raider fan accounts began sharing the fundraiser with a clear message: it was time to “return the love” and rally around her. A Facebook post from Pete Christy, a Texas TV sports anchor also encouraged Red Raider fans to step up for the Cornia family.
Petersen said the surge of support in the last 24 hours has been overwhelming.
The donations have doubled in the last 24 hours, she said. “We were incredibly grateful for everyone, reaching out and helping, and now with this new pickup of people being willing to donate to her, it’ll help Katie to focus on healing both physically and emotionally without that outside stress.”
Earlier this season, BYU fans rallied for a Texas Tech family
The generosity from Texas Tech fans comes just weeks after BYU supporters donated tens of thousands of dollars to a GoFundMe for the family of Texas Tech football’s team barber, Ivan Ortiz, whose wife, Maddie Ortiz, was critically injured when she was struck by a suspected drunk driver in October.
Ortiz started the fundraiser with a $25,000 goal to help cover Maddie’s hospital stays and support for their 3-year-old son while Ortiz took time off from his commission-based work to care for his family.
BYU fans went to social media to share the campaign and urge Cougar nation to support. Within roughly a day, donations soared from under $6,000 to more than $63,000. Now it has reached nearly $194,000, far surpassing their goal.
Now, that spirit of mutual support is turning back toward Utah.
‘All of that positivity … coming back to them’
For Petersen, seeing fans from across the country — and from two different fanbases — rally around her sister feels like a reflection of the way the Cornias treated others.
“They cared about other people,” she said. “The life that they were building together … they just love life and being serviceable people.”
She said the messages, donations and prayers are easing at least one layer of burden in what she calls an “unthinkable journey” for Katie.
“We’re just so grateful to see that coming back to them now,” Petersen said, adding: “To see that all of that positivity that they put out in the world has inspired other people to give back, too — it’s been quite amazing, really.”
As Katie Cornia works through physical therapy in hopes of being strong enough to attend Gavin Cornias funeral — the same week as what would have been his birthday — her family, Petersen says, is clinging to the words she repeats each day: that with God and her husband on her side, she can keep going.