Baldwin ? The Baker University community is in mourning after a three-vehicle collision Tuesday morning just outside of Baldwin took the life of a promising freshman football player and injured his brother and a friend.

Shawn M. Trager, 19, Chillicothe, Mo., died at University of Kansas Hospital, Kansas City, Kan., where he was taken by LifeNet helicopter ambulance shortly after the collision occurred on U.S. Highway 56 near East 1900 Road. The driver of a tractor-trailer involved in the accident was later arrested on suspicion of driving while intoxicated and aggravated battery.

“It was just another day and then, in just a terrible moment, it happened, and our lives changed,” said the Rev. Ira DeSpain, Baker campus minister.

DeSpain spoke to about 200 people who crowded Tuesday night into the campus’s Osborne Chapel. Nearly all of them were students, teammates, professors and university staff who wanted to remember Trager and pray for his brother Aaron Trager and another passenger in the car, Andrew Potts. Aaron Trager and Potts, both sophomores, also are on the Baker football team.

“We have come to God to look for reassurance on this sad day,” DeSpain said.

Brother at bedside

Aaron Trager, 20, and Potts, 21, of Richmond, were taken by Lawrence-Douglas County Fire & Medical to Overland Park Regional Medical Center. Both were treated and released.

Aaron Trager, also of Chillicothe, was allowed to leave the Overland Park hospital and quickly taken in a wheelchair to his brother’s bedside at KU Hospital, head football coach Mike Grossner said.

“Aaron at least had a chance to say goodbye,” Grossner said. “I feel so bad for him. He’s a strong kid.”

Baker University students remember Shawn Trager during a prayer service. Trager, a freshman football player, died of injuries suffered in an auto accident Tuesday morning outside Baldwin. Trager's brother and another Baker student were injured in the accident. The service was Tuesday night at Baker.

Accident closed highway

The first reports of an accident came into emergency dispatchers at 11:34 a.m. Law enforcement officers and emergency medical crews responded and blocked off traffic on U.S. 56 from East 1850 Road at the edge of Baldwin to East 1950 Road. It was reopened about 4 p.m., dispatchers said.

According to the Kansas Highway Patrol, a 1999 Chevrolet Cavalier driven by Potts was westbound and had slowed, possibly to make a left turn onto East 1900. The car was struck from behind by a tractor-trailer that was also westbound, driven by Yan R. McHenry, 46, Dallas.

The Cavalier was pushed into the eastbound lane of the highway and was struck by an eastbound 2001 Chrysler Voyager van driven by Ronald E. Nelson, 57, Baldwin. That collision knocked the Cavalier back into the westbound lane where it struck the semi’s trailer.

Highway Patrol troopers, Douglas County Sheriff’s deputies and Baldwin Police arrived to find the Cavalier stopped in the center of the highway facing west. The semi was stopped along the north shoulder facing west and the van was in the north ditch.

6News video: Baker freshman killed in accident on U.S. 56 6News video: Baker community mourns student

Nelson was taken by ambulance to Lawrence Memorial Hospital where he was treated and released, a nursing supervisor said.

McHenry, who was not injured, was booked into the Douglas County Jail at 5:26 p.m.

Word spreads

Antoniyo Solomon, who played defensive tackle as a senior last year, was working at the Sonic Drive-In when he heard police sirens and saw emergency vehicles going east out of town.

“I had no idea,” Solomon, from Cleveland, Texas, said, as he shook his head.

Solomon was one of those who attended the church service and then helped console some of the younger players. “We all value each other a little more,” he said.

Word of the accident quickly spread throughout Baldwin and Baker. Before and after the church service, students and faculty stood silently outside the chapel, many in tears and many hugging each other.

One of them was Bruce Young, who as an assistant coach recruited the Trager brothers. Shawn, a wide receiver, wanted to come to Baker and follow in Aaron’s footsteps, he said. Aaron was listed on last year’s roster as a defensive back. Potts was listed as a defensive lineman.

“The little curly-haired man,” Young said of Shawn Trager. “When you get ready to hit him, you had better bring it all, because he was going to give it to you. He came into a room and took over. Shawn left a piece of him with every one of us.”

University’s condolences

DeSpain and Grossner were in the hospital room with Shawn Trager, along with the Trager family, while friends waited outside, they said.

“For every death there is a resurrection,” DeSpain said.

Baker President Daniel Lambert expressed the university’s sorrow about Shawn Trager’s death.

“We offer our heartfelt condolences to his family and friends during this time of great sadness,” Lambert said in a news release. “His loss will be felt by everyone at Baker.

DeSpain and Baker counselor Sarah Hastings were available to meet with distraught students after the church service.