UK basketball player Terrence Clarke dies in a car crash on Thursday

It is a tragic moment for the family of UK men’s basketball player Terrence Clarke, who died in a car crash in Los Angeles on Thursday.

Sources say that the 19-year-old reportedly died in the crash after a workout session with BJ Boston. WKYT confirmed the reports with the Valley Traffic Division of Los Angeles Police.

A police officer told WKYT that the accident happened around 2:10 PT on Winnetka Avenue. The LAPD said Clarke drove at a high-speed rate, ran into a red light, and hit another car which sent Clarke’s car spinning left until it hit a pole and block wall. The police added that Clarke wasn’t properly wearing his seatbelt.

Witness videos of the crash also confirmed the LAPD’s statement. Police say that Clarke was taken to Northridge Hospital where he was confirmed dead. He is survived by his parents, Osmine Clarke and Adrian Briggs, and 3 siblings: Tatyana Gray, Gavin Clarke, and Madison Adrianne.

Kentucky head coach John Calipari said the news of the death of the NBA Draft prospect was gutted and sickening. He described Clarke as a young person who was well-loved by his team.

“A young person who we all love has just lost his life too soon, one with all of his dreams and hopes ahead of him,” Calipari said. “Terrence Clarke was a beautiful kid, someone who owned the room with his personality, smile and joy. People gravitated to him, and to hear we have lost him is just hard for all of us to comprehend right now. We are all in shock.”

The news of Clarke’s death also hit Boston hard because he was very passionate about his community and took pride in representing the city nationally. According to a story Boston Globe covered in 2019, Clarke lived in Roslindale but spent much of his time in Roxbury at the Vine Street Community Center.

“I really want to do this for myself, but I also want to do this for my community because [Boston] has never been on the map,” Clarke said at the time. “Nobody would say, ‘Oh, [top] basketball players come from Boston.’ I want to be the person to make that happen.”

Before his death, Clarke, together with Boston had just signed with the same agent, Klutch Sports. In the last season he played, Clarke averaged 10 points and 3 rebounds in Kentucky’s first 7 games, and career-high 22 points against Georgia Tech.

In March, Clarke declared for the NBA Draft, although he missed 17 games due to a foot injury before he returned in the SEC Tournament. He was one of the most decorated basketball players to come from Boston in the last 10 years. He ranked No. 8 in Rivals.com’s ranking for the class of 2020.

He emerged as one of the best high school players in the U.S., earning McDonald’s All-American honors and leading Brewster Academy (New Hampshire) to a 2019 National Prep Championship.