Dylan Higgins Obituary, Death – Wamego High School Senior and Football Player Killed in UTV Accident
The Wamego, Kansas, community is mourning the death of Dylan Higgins, a 17-year-old Wamego High School senior and football player who was killed in a UTV accident over the weekend.
Higgins was identified as the fatality victim after a crash early Sunday, September 13, near Old Post Road and Genn Road northeast of Wamego. According to the Pottawatomie County Sheriff’s Office, deputies responded to the crash at about 12:50 a.m. and found three people who had been traveling in the UTV. Higgins, who had been ejected from the vehicle, was pronounced dead at the scene.
The sheriff’s office said the UTV was traveling east on Old Post Road when the 18-year-old driver attempted to turn south onto Genn Road and lost control. The driver, identified as Harry Costa of Wamego, was not injured. Another passenger, 16-year-old Emily Crocker of Wamego, suffered minor injuries and did not require transportation to a hospital. The investigation into the crash remains ongoing.
Wamego High School Mourns Dylan Higgins
News of Higgins’ death was shared with families in the Wamego USD 320 school district on Sunday. Superintendent Josh Meyers said a student had died in a UTV accident and asked members of the school community to show compassion and respect for those most directly affected.
The district also made counseling and mental health support available to students and staff as the school community began dealing with the loss.
Higgins was a senior member of the Wamego High School football program. His team roster listed him as a senior cornerback wearing No. 3, and Kansas high school football coverage had previously recognized him among the league’s selected defensive players.
His football teammates are now remembering him as much more than an athlete. In a tribute shared following his death, Higgins was described as a teammate, brother, son and friend whose loss has left an emptiness throughout the program.
“It is with the heaviest hearts that we mourn the passing of one of our own, Dylan Higgins,” the tribute said, while asking the football community to stand with his family during the difficult days ahead.
The message also ended with the words “Fly high #3,” a reference to the number Higgins wore on the Wamego football field.
A Community Grieves
For classmates and teammates, Higgins’ death comes as a painful loss at the beginning of his senior year. His involvement with Wamego football had made him a familiar part of the school’s athletic community, and his sudden death has brought grief to students, coaches, families and friends.
The school district has urged students and families to support one another while the community processes the tragedy. Officials have also emphasized that the circumstances of the UTV crash remain under investigation.
Dylan Higgins will be remembered by the Wamego community through the relationships he built as a student, teammate, son, brother and friend. His death has left his family, classmates and teammates facing a loss that came suddenly and far too soon.
As the investigation continues, the Wamego community is coming together to honor Higgins’ memory and support those closest to him during this difficult time.
