A 21-year-old college hockey captain who hoped to become a police officer was killed in a wrong-way crash involving a Mexican national who had allegedly entered the United States illegally multiple times after a previous removal, the Department of Homeland Security confirmed to News Outlet.
Ryan O’Shea, a senior at the University of New Haven, was driving south on Interstate 91 in North Haven late Oct. 16 when a Chevrolet Silverado traveling in the wrong direction collided head-on with his Honda Accord, according to Connecticut State Police.
The State Police accident summary identified the Silverado driver as 31-year-old Guillermo Carmona-Lopez of Bridgeport.
The impact pushed O’Shea’s vehicle into another lane, where it was struck by a Jeep. The car then continued onto the right shoulder and was hit by a third vehicle.
University of New Haven hockey captain Ryan O’Shea skates during a game. The 21-year-old criminal justice student hoped to become a police officer after graduating. (University of New Haven Press Release/Lily Anderson Photography)
O’Shea sustained fatal injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene. Carmona-Lopez was transported to Yale New Haven Hospital with serious, life-threatening injuries. Three other people suffered minor injuries.
DHS told News Outlet that Carmona-Lopez had entered the United States illegally several times despite being previously removed and receiving a final order of removal.
“In May 2013, Border Patrol arrested Guillermo Carmona-Lopez, a criminal illegal alien from Mexico, after he illegally entered the country,” a DHS spokesperson said. “Carmona-Lopez was issued an expedited removal and was removed from the country.”
University of New Haven hockey captain Ryan O’Shea, center, stands with teammates on the ice. O’Shea, 21, was killed in a wrong-way crash on Interstate 91 in North Haven, Connecticut, on Oct. 16. (University of New Haven Press Release/Lily Anderson Photography)
DHS said Carmona-Lopez later reentered the country illegally near the Rio Grande Valley and was arrested by Border Patrol again that same month.
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“Carmona-Lopez was issued a final order of removal on May 30, 2013,” the spokesperson said. “He then reentered the country at an unknown time and place.”
O’Shea, who was from Stony Point, New York, studied criminal justice with a concentration in police science at the University of New Haven. He was also senior captain of the men’s club hockey team.
The university said O’Shea interned with the New York City Police Department during the summer. He planned to join the NYPD after graduation and eventually pursue a career with the Drug Enforcement Administration.
“Ryan wanted to go into public service in order to help others,” his academic advisor, Lorenzo Boyd, said in a university tribute. “He was engaging in the classroom and will be missed greatly.”
Devin Bertrand, general manager of the men’s ice hockey club, remembered O’Shea for an “infectious personality” that “lit up our locker room the moment he walked in.”
Ryan O’Shea was a college student in New Haven, Connecticut. (Getty Images/Sang H. Kim)
O’Shea was also president of his Kappa Sigma fraternity chapter. The fraternity said he was returning from a hockey game when the crash occurred.
“Ryan was not only a great leader, but he was a caring friend to anyone around him,” the fraternity said in a social media tribute. “He always knew how to light up a room and make people laugh, no matter the time.”
The State Police Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Squad responded to the scene and is helping with the ongoing investigation.
“Under President Trump and Secretary Mullin, if you break the law, you will face the consequences,” the DHS spokesperson said. “Criminal illegal aliens are not welcome in the U.S.”
