Father dies after car hits Kansas family of athletes in Kentucky, media reports
The father of a Kansas family of athletes has died after being hit by an impaired driver, media outlets reported Friday.
Four members of the Jones family were hit by a driver while walking on the sidewalk in downtown Louisville on Tuesday night, where University of Iowa basketball commit Ava Jones, who is going into her senior year at Nickerson High School, was playing in a basketball tournament.
Multiple media outlets reported Friday that 42-year-old Trey Jones was pronounced dead on Thursday. The Hutchinson News said he was being kept on life support until his organs could be donated.
Jones’ mother, Mary Jones, told the Hutch News that’s what he wanted, adding “He would have helped a lot of people in life, but he will do it in death too. That’s who he is.”
A UofL Health spokesperson said Friday afternoon that Jones’ wife, Amy, and daughter, Ava, were still in critical condition. Ava’s younger brother reportedly had minor injuries.
Mary Jones told the Hutch News that 17-year-old Ava Jones and 44-year-old Amy Jones were both still on ventilators, but doctors were trying to get Ava Jones off of one.
Police arrested Michael Hurley, a 33-year-old from Lexington, Ind., after the incident and charged him with four counts of first-degree assault along with driving under the influence and a license possession violation.
According to the police report, Hurley was turning left on a downtown street when his car left the road. Police said Hurley told officers he had taken hydrocodone and was “so tired that he could not make the turn.” Following the death of Trey Jones, police said Hurley will now face the additional charge of murder, according to TV station WHAS.
Ava Jones’ older brother, Hunter, a multi-sport standout athlete at Nickerson, was not involved in the accident. He competes in multiple events for Pittsburg State University’s track and field team.
The accident comes just two days after Ava Jones, one of the nation’s top class of 2023 basketball recruits, announced her commitment to the Iowa women’s basketball team. She is a three-sport, all-state star at Nickerson, where she was a standout volleyball, basketball and track athlete. Jones, a 6-foot-2 forward, averaged 20.8 points and 15.4 rebounds to power Nickerson to the Class 3A state basketball semifinals this past season.
Trey Jones and his wife Amy were both athletes as well. Both won state titles in the high jump when they were in high school, according to the Hutch News, and Trey Jones had set Nickerson High School records in the 1990s for javelin and high jump.
Ava Jones took gold in the 4A high jump as a sophomore at the Kansas state meet.
A photo in the Hutch News shows her hugging her dad, who was her high jump coach, after she won gold during the state meet at Wichita State’s Cessna Stadium.
Jones taught wood shop and was the head track coach at Nickerson High School. Amy Jones is an assistant superintendent in the district.
A GoFundMe set up to help the family raised more than $20,000 in less than a day. The goal was to raise $10,000. It was at nearly $30,000 at 4 p.m. Friday.
The “Jones Family Fund” has also been set up at Peoples Bank and Trust in Hutchinson. Donations can be made at any of the locations. A candlelight vigil is planned at 8:45 p.m. Sunday at the Nickerson High School track.
Contributing: Taylor Eldridge at The Eagle
This story was originally published July 8, 2022 at 5:35 PM.