IMAGE COURTESY OF THE UNION BOOSTER CLUB/FACEBOOK

This story has been updated to include the names and the ages of those involved in the accident.

LA PORTE CITY – This past Tuesday evening, a Union High School student lost his life and four others were injured as a result of a car accident that took place in Black Hawk County following the Oelwein-Union volleyball match in Jesup.

According to information released on Thursday morning, senior Gavin Rohrbach, 17, of La Porte City died at the scene. Four of Rohrbach’s fellow Union High School students were injured in the accident and include Brayden Bohnsack, 18, of La Porte City; Justice Luke, 17, of Buckingham; Evan Hanus, 17, of La Porte City; and Keegan Brooks, 16, of Traer. All four along with Rohrbach were occupants of the Nissan Pathfinder sport utility vehicle involved in the crash.

Following the accident, on Wednesday morning, the Union Community School District canceled all 7-12 extracurricular and co-curricular activities through Sunday, Sept. 15.

Union Superintendent John Howard initially sent the following statement to Union families in regard to the accident. The statement was made available to the newspaper by Supt. Howard. The statement is included in part below. Some of the statement has not been printed at the request of the school district.

Dear Union Families:

It is with tremendous sadness that I share this update with you. Last night, multiple Union students were involved in an auto accident returning from the volleyball game at Oelwein. One of the individuals … died at the scene of the accident. …

Words can’t readily express the devastation this news has had on our school community, especially the students and staff. Additional counseling staff, provided by Central Rivers AEA, are on school sites today to assist any students or staff who may need extra support in processing this terrible news.

We ask that you keep the impacted families, as well as our entire Knight community, in your thoughts during this extraordinarily difficult time.

John Howard, Superintendent

Activities canceled following the accident included the Thursday home cross country meet in La Porte City. The Homecoming game, which was set for Friday, Sept. 20, has been postponed as well to Friday, Oct. 4, with Homecoming activities now taking place the week of Sept. 30.

Thursday, Sept. 12 update: The Union CSD released an official statement early Thursday morning:

“Words can’t readily express the devastation this news has had on our school district. With that being stated, we have greatly appreciated the overwhelming support offered from Central Rivers AEA staff, local businesses and organizations, as well as other school districts as we cope with this unspeakable tragedy.”

“We ask that you keep the impacted families, as well as our entire Knight community, in your thoughts during this extraordinarily difficult time.”

This is a developing story.