University of Nebraska-Omaha basketball star Deng Mayar tragically died Saturday in a drowning accident at the age of 22.
The Omaha forward encountered trouble while swimming with a friend at Blackridge Reservoir in Herriman, about 20 miles southwest of Salt Lake City, shortly before 6 p.m., Fox 13 reported.
Sa Mafutaga, 21, who was with Mayar at the reservoir, managed to reach the shore but soon realized that Mayar was still in the water.
He returned to try to help his friend but was unable to reach him and was eventually pulled to safety by the Unified Fire Authority.
“It was scary. We saw the police running past us with a stretcher, and there was a person on it who was really pale and wasn’t moving,” said witness Hudsyn Sandoval, a nearby resident, to Fox 13.
Mayar, who had transferred to the University of Nebraska-Omaha from the North Dakota Fighting Hawks this summer, was raised in Salt Lake City.
“Our entire program is devastated to learn of Deng’s passing. After competing against him for two years, we were thrilled to add him to our team, and he made tremendous progress this summer,” Omaha men’s basketball coach Chris Crutchfield said in a statement, as reported by ESPN.
“He was a joy to be around and made our culture better. We will miss him greatly. Jodi and I, along with our entire program, send our hearts and prayers to Deng’s family, friends, and teammates,” he added.
