What happened to Tiara Wheeler? Former basketball player Tyson Wheeler's daughter killed in Groton crash

On Tuesday, August 29, Connecticut authorities announced that Tiara Wheeler had died in a multi-vehicle crash in Groton. The 24-year-old victim was the child of Tyson Wheeler, a former college basketballer who was best known for playing with the University of Rhode Island from 1994 to 1998.

According to WFSB, the incident occurred due to a collision near Long Hill Road and the Meridian Street Extension. Officials believe that, at the time of the incident, Tiara Wheeler was a passenger on a dirt bike. They reported that some of the people involved in the crash could anticipate criminal charges.

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"Wanton disregard for human life": Investigation into Tiara Wheeler's death reveals questionable actions by deceased's fellow riders

At around 9:30 pm on Tuesday, Tiara Wheeler, who was reportedly a passenger on a dirt bike, was thrown to the ground after the bike crashed into an Audi Q7 driven by a 24-year-old woman, leading to her death at the scene of the incident. According to WFSB, the bike, which was being driven by a 25-year-old Mashantucket man, was part of a group that was traveling through Groton on motorcycles and ATVs.

The dirt bike operator was also seriously injured and was brought to Lawrence + Memorial Hospital in New London for treatment before being airlifted to Yale New Haven Hospital.

As reported by authorities, the incident occurred after the dirt bike collided with the Audi that was making a legal turn. NBC Connecticut noted that the other dirt bikers fled the scene of the accident and also removed the dirt bike involved in the incident, which further complicated the investigation.

Speaking about the unfortunate incident, Louis Fusaro, the Chief of the Groton Police Department, said in an official statement,

"In addition to the wanton disregard for human life, the actions of removing the involved dirt bike from the scene has tampered with and impeded this investigation."

Willo Carter, an eyewitness at the scene, told WFSB that first responders tried to help Tiara Wheeler. However, he said that eventually, it would be clear that their attempts to save her would prove futile.

Carter said:

“I saw them working on the person on the ground the one who passed away, they worked relentlessly to help them. I just saw them doing compressions and I saw them drop their gloves, I knew when the ambulance pulled away that it wasn’t good (...) It was preventable is what was going through my head. Pay attention to what you’re doing and you don’t have stuff like that happen."

Fusaro blamed Wheeler's death on the erratic driving of the dirt bikers and ATV enthusiasts, saying,

“People that are operating recklessly, operating unregistered vehicles, dirt bikes, ATVs, all things that don’t belong on our roadway not only create a hazard to them but create a hazard to the rest of the public and the behavior needs to stop."

The police chief added:

“Incidents in the recent past of large groups of presumably unregistered, maybe even stolen motorcycles, dirt bikes, ATVs, all traveling on local streets, operating recklessly and creating hazard not just to themselves but the rest of the public."

The death of Tiara Wheeler currently remains under police investigation. The victim's father has not made a formal statement concerning the crash.