Northeastern University Students Killed Following Crash In Texas

DALLAM COUNTY, Texas (STMW) -- Two Northeastern Illinois University students were killed Friday in a motor vehicle crash involving a Freightliner truck while travelling to a leadership conference for their fraternity in Arizona.

The students, Victor Maldonado, 18, of Chicago and David Roman, 23, of Mundelein, were travelling southwest on US Highway 54 about 8:30 a.m. Friday when their vehicle veered northwest and made impact with the 18-wheeler, said Dallam County Dispatcher Tony Sotelo.

Beth Campus, spokesman for Northeastern Illinois University, confirmed that Maldonado and Roman were both Northeastern students, and that both were members of the Omega Delta Phi fraternity.

Denny Esquivel, a founder of the Northeatern Illinois University chapter of Omega Delta Phi, said the men were travelling to a leadership conference for the fraternity in Tucson, Ariz., when the crash occurred.

Three others travelling with Maldonado and Roman were also injured in the crash, Sotelo said. David Rubio, 19, of Berwyn, Kyle Thomas, 21, of Chicago and 19-year-old Seth Amofa from Chicago were taken to Northwest Texas Hospital in good condition, Sotelo said.

They were also NEIU students and Omega Delta Phi members, according to Esquivel.

Two people who were in the truck were taken to an area hospital but were later released.

The fraternity is also raising money to help return the victims' bodies to their loved ones on its website.

(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2014. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)