The tragic death of a young college athlete in the United States

Dillon Reidenauer, a 19-year-old pole vaulter for Louisiana State University’s track and field team, was killed in a tragic traffic accident on Wednesday night.

The crash involved Reidenauer’s car and a motorcycle driven by another young woman, who also died. Baton Rouge police reported that the pole vaulter was driving her car at around 9:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday when she attempted to make a left turn onto South Quad Drive, and her vehicle was struck by the motorcycle.

Reidenauer, a first-year student at LSU, had been one of Louisiana’s top high school pole vaulters while attending Fontainebleau High School. She also finished second in the 2024 Louisiana High School Athletic Association (LHSAA) state championship with a vault of 3.64 meters (11 feet, 11 inches).

Both university faculty and her teammates have expressed their condolences to her family, sharing how difficult it has been to process the devastating loss.

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