Wednesday, January 24, 2024 marked the 32nd anniversary of the University of Notre Dame bus crash that killed two members of the Notre Dame Swimming & Diving team – Meghan Beeler and Colleen Hipp. They were both freshmen at the time of the accident.
The accident occurred around midnight on January 24, 1992, as the team was returning from a meet against Northwestern University. According to an article from The New York Times, the bus hit a patch of ice, skidded, and overturned four miles from Notre Dame’s campus. The university called for the weekend’s athletic events to be canceled, which was the first time since President John F. Kennedy’s assassination in 1963. Several members of the women’s team were injured, including Haley Scott, who faced a serious back injury and ultimately suffered paralysis. After a series of operations, Scott was able to compete for the Fighting Irish again 21 months later.
Read more about Haley Scott DeMaria’s autobiography What Though the Odds: Haley Scott’s Journey of Faith and Triumph here.
Last week, current members and staff of the Notre Dame Swimming & Diving team gathered at the Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes on Notre Dame’s campus for a special prayer service in remembrance of Beeler, Hipp, and all those affected by the accident. In addition, members of the women’s team visited and paid respects at Beeler’s grave in the Notre Dame Cemetery.
Alicia Wolf, a member of the 1992 Notre Dame swim team, spoke about the accident and her experience at Notre Dame: “I remember asking (my now husband) what set (the accident) apart…(it) was because we were acting on behalf of the university…We were Notre Dame swimmers…”
Wolf was one of the swimmers injured in the crash. She described the response from the Notre Dame student body to the accident as a “constant outpouring of condolence and support…it really was special.”
Beeler, a Granger, Ind. native, grew up and attended high school just outside Notre Dame’s campus. Her funeral was held at Notre Dame’s Basilica of the Sacred Heart. Wolf stated: “I was able to attend Meghan’s funeral…and the basilica was full…It was the Notre Dame family.”
The Notre Dame Swimming & Diving Team continues to remember the 1992 Notre Dame team and the lives of Meghan Beeler and Colleen Hipp. Every year, the program gives out the Hipp-Beeler award in honor of the two women, and this award goes to the Notre Dame swimmer or diver that gives their all each day in the pool and helps unite the team through their leadership.