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Brett Ballard via Instagram
Credit: Brett Ballard/Instagram
NEED TO KNOW
- Washburn University basketball coach Brett Ballard was “seriously injured” after his car struck a bridge pillar on Tuesday, Aug. 4 in Kansas
- Ballard’s Ford F-150 hit a delineator post, the embankment and the pillar along the Kansas turnpike just before 8:17 p.m.
- Ballard was taken to Stormont Vail Hospital with serious injuries
Washburn University basketball coach Brett Ballard has been “seriously injured” after his car struck a bridge pillar.
According to local outlets KWCH and KSNT, Ballard, 46, was driving his Ford F-150 on Tuesday, Aug. 4 in Topeka, Kan., when he struck a bridge pillar. Kansas Highway Patrol told the outlet Ballard’s vehicle hit a delineator post, the embankment and the pillar after departing the roadway on I-470 along the Kansas turnpike.
The crash was reported at 8:17 p.m., according to KWCH, and Ballard was transported to Stormont Vail Hospital.
Ballard was wearing a seatbelt when the accident occurred, the outlet said. Additional details have not been made known.
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Brett Ballard via Instagram
Credit: Brett Ballard/Instagram
Dr. JuliAnn Mazachek, the president of Washburn University, issued a statement to KSNT following the news. “We are deeply saddened to share that Coach Brett Ballard was seriously injured in a car accident last evening,” Dr. Mazachek said. “Our hearts are with Coach Ballard, his family, the men’s basketball program and all who are affected during this difficult time.”
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She added, “We ask our community to keep them in their thoughts during this time of recovery and to respect the family’s privacy. The university will share additional information when appropriate.”
Washburn football coach Zach Watkins told KSNT, “Coach Ballard is a great friend of mine and obviously what he has done for Washburn and, you know, who he is as a person and his family. But (I) texted his wife this morning and got the latest information and we prayed for him here as a team before practice and, you know, our thoughts are with him and his family.”
“When something happens to your family, it affects you and so we’re getting off the practice field and going to see what we can do to help right now and praying for him,” Watkins added.
Before becoming a coach at Washburn, Ballard played basketball for the Kansas Jayhawks, competing in the 2001 NCAA Sweet Sixteen and the 2002 NCAA Final Four, according to Yahoo.
As a coach at Washburn, he led the school to the Division II Final Four in the 2024-25 season after they finished the season with an impressive 30-4 record.
Read the original article on People
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