AURORA | A man killed in a head-on crash with a wrong-way driver on E-470 Sunday night was an Aurora water polo coach who helped found a local water polo club.
Grier Laughlin, 37, died Sunday after a Ford Taurus driving southbound in the northbound lanes of the tollway slammed into the Chevrolet Yukon he was driving. The driver of the Taurus, Odean Wheetley, 89, also died at the scene. Three children in the Yukon were taken to Children’s Hospital with minor injuries, the Colorado State Patrol said.
According to the Colorado Water Polo club’s website, Grier was an All-American swimmer at Cherry Creek High School and later went ton to swim at Dartmouth College, where he was introduced to water polo.
He founded Colorado Water Polo in May 2003 and in recent years coached the team at competitions around the region.
State Patrol said Monday it wasn’t yet clear why Wheetley drove the wrong way on the toll road Sunday night.
A few minutes before the crash near E-470 and Quincy, CSP said they received a report of the Taurus driving the wrong way, but troopers weren’t able to reach the car before the crash.
CSP said in a statement that a medical condition and fog could have been factors in the crash.
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