LEHI, Utah — Former BYU basketball player Jake Shoff has been identified as the driver killed in an accident on Interstate 15 on Thursday that may have been caused by a medical issue.
In a post to its website, the BYU basketball team shared that it was Shoff who died in the accident near the Point of the Mountain.
The Utah Highway Patrol said a driver was reported to have been "driving recklessly" in the right shoulder in the northbound lanes of the highway when they veered to the left and struck another vehicle with his Mercedes SUV. The driver, later identified as Shoff, then hit a concrete barrier in the median and returned to traffic, sideswiping two other vehicles before his SUV rolled onto its side.
First responders extracted Shoff from the SUV and attempted life-saving measures before he died at the scene.
UHP added that a medical emergency is currently being suspected as a contributing factor to the crash.
An Alpine native, Shoff appeared in 57 games for the Cougars between 2001-2004 after transferring from Weber State. He started in BYU's first-round NCAA Tournament game against Connecticut in 2003.
"We share the sad loss of a giant of a man — a giant in every sense of the word," the family said in a statement. "Our world has been flipped upside down. We are reeling and devastated. No words can describe the void we are all experiencing right now."
