Hockey captain killed in crash with driver facing removal orders

Ryan O'Shea, 21, died in a multi-vehicle collision on Interstate 91 in North Haven, Connecticut. The crash occurred late on October 16 and involved a driver who had previously been ordered removed from the country. O'Shea was a senior at the University of New Haven and the captain of the men's club hockey team.

Connecticut State Police reported that O'Shea was driving his Honda Accord south on the interstate when a Chevrolet Silverado traveling in the wrong lane struck his vehicle head-on. The impact sent O'Shea's car into another lane, where it was hit by a Jeep. The Accord then moved onto the right shoulder and was struck by a third vehicle. O'Shea sustained fatal injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene.

The driver of the Silverado was Guillermo Carmona-Lopez, 31, of Bridgeport. He was transported to Yale New Haven Hospital with serious, life-threatening injuries. Three other individuals involved in the crash sustained minor injuries. The State Police Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Squad is assisting with the ongoing investigation.

The Department of Homeland Security confirmed that Carmona-Lopez entered the United States illegally multiple times after a prior removal. A DHS spokesperson stated that Border Patrol arrested Carmona-Lopez in May 2013 after he illegally entered the country. He was issued an expedited removal and sent back. DHS records show he reentered near the Rio Grande Valley and was arrested again that same month. He received a final order of removal on May 30, 2013, before reentering the country at an unspecified time and location.

O'Shea was from Stony Point, New York, and studied criminal justice with a focus on police science. He had interned with the New York City Police Department over the summer and planned to join the NYPD after graduation. He also intended to eventually work for the Drug Enforcement Administration. Lorenzo Boyd, O'Shea's academic advisor, noted that O'Shea wanted to enter public service to help others and was an engaging student.

Devin Bertrand, the general manager of the men's ice hockey club, described O'Shea's personality as infectious and said he lit up the locker room. O'Shea also served as president of his Kappa Sigma fraternity chapter. The fraternity stated he was returning from a hockey game when the crash occurred and remembered him as a caring friend and leader. A DHS spokesperson added that under current leadership, those who break the law will face consequences and that criminal illegal aliens are not welcome in the United States.