19 year old Polo Manukainiu, a freshman at Texas A&M University & defensive lineman on the Aggie football team, died Monday night while making a road trip from Utah to Texas, a 22 hour road trip. Manukainiu was as passanger in a 2002 Toyota Sequoia when the vehicle drifted off the road, the driver overcorrected and the vehicle rolled several times.
Shortly before the accident, Polo sent this tweet
Polo & his friends had made it as far as Albuquerque, New Mexico before the accident. Also killed in the crash were Gaius Vaenuku, an incoming member of the Utah football team, and Andrew Uhatafe. All three were from the town of Euless, a suburb of Dallas, TX. Manukainiu and Uhatafe were ejected from the vehicle and died at the scene. Vaenuku was transported from the scene but was pronounced dead in the ambulance. The driver and one other passenger were taken to the hospital with minor injuries. Alcohol was not a factor.
I take long road trips all the time. My most recent 15 hour road trip was on about 4 hours of sleep. This is really scary. I’ve known people who have fallen asleep behind the wheel while only driving a few minutes. Don’t put yourself at risk, forget what anyone else says, GET SOME SLEEP! My prayers to the family of these young men.
