Three James Madison University students, who were identified as John Luke Fergusson, Nicholas Troutman and Joshua Mardis, died in a car accident on Thursday night. Hardy County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that the crash took place at about 10:30 PM on West Virginia Route 259 near the West Virginia-Virginia state line.

“Upon arrival, deputies were able to determine the involved vehicle had been traveling south before leaving the roadway and striking a tree,” a Hardy County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson wrote in an email, as per WTVR news.

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“The road condition at the time was dry and atmospheric conditions clear. The were no signs of skid or yaw marks noted on the roadway surface indicating any type of evasive actions and no indications of an animal being struck.”

Authorities said that there were five students in the car. Three of them died. The other two are in critical condition.

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“The loss our community has felt today is unthinkable. We share our sincere condolences to our university community as a whole, but specifically to the families, friends and others with close connections to the students we’ve lost. In these moments of significant grief, it is more important than ever to support and care for one another. Kindness, understanding and hope are things we all need to give and receive in the coming days and weeks ahead,” Jonathan Alger, JMU’s president, said in a statement.

John “Luke” Fergusson was a sophomore, majoring in media arts and design from Richmond. Nicholas Troutman was a sophomore, majoring in business management from Richmond and Joshua Mardis was a sophomore, majoring in communication studies from Williamsburg. All three males were 19 years old.

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“These three young men will always be remembered as Dukes and will forever be in our hearts. In addition, please keep the two other students involved, who were also injured and are currently hospitalized from this accident, in your thoughts,” Alger’s statement further read.

“It is with a heavy heart and sadness I write to inform you of the loss of several JMU students from a tragic car accident that occurred last night in West Virginia,” JMU Vice President for Student Affairs Tim Miller said in a statement.