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 reentered the United States multiple times after being removed, the Department of Homeland Security confirmed to News Media.
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 north in the wrong lanes collided head-on with his Honda Accord, according to Connecticut State Police.
The Silverado was driven by 31-year-old Guillermo Carmona-Lopez of Bridgeport, according to the State Police accident summary.
The force of the crash pushed O’Shea’s Honda into another lane, where a Jeep struck it. The vehicle then moved 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 graduation. (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 involved in the crash suffered minor injuries.
DHS told News Media that Carmona-Lopez had entered the United States illegally several times despite an earlier removal and a final order requiring him to leave the country.
“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 crossed into the country illegally near the Rio Grande Valley and was arrested by Border Patrol again that same month.
“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.”
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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 also served as senior captain of the men’s club hockey team.
During the summer, O’Shea interned with the New York City Police Department. After graduation, he planned to join the NYPD and eventually pursue a career with the Drug Enforcement Administration, the university said.
“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, described O’Shea as a person whose “infectious personality 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 fatal 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 continues to assist with the investigation, which remains underway.
“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.”