KANSAS CITY, Mo. — In the game of rugby, bonds are forged through tackles, passes and goals. They're also formed off the field.
"We've always looked to the Blues as a brotherhood," Kansas City Jr. Blues assistant coach Joe Fridkin said.
In January, Fridkin welcomed a new player to the club: Matthew Bloskey.
"He had immediate impact because of his glowing personality," Fridkin said of the 18-year-old Rockhurst High School senior.
Bloskey was getting ready for his homecoming dance on Saturday when he fell victim to a deadly chain of events near 151st Street and Stearns Street in Overland Park.
According to the Overland Park Police Department, the wreck started when a black van hit a car driven by 20-year-old Samuel Siebuhr, causing Siebuhr's car to spin out and collide with Bloskey's car.
Fridkin heard the news as his daughter was also getting dressed for Rockhurst's homecoming.
"As you're watching your kids get ready for that same homecoming dance, you're crushed for the parents and certainly for friends and family," he said.
Friends and family spent an agonizing three days with few answers — just a picture of the van that police circulated on social media. The van was located on Tuesday.
"Once we found that van, the families were very relieved, very relieved," Overland Park police spokesman John Lacy said.
But that relief couldn’t take away the grief felt over the losses of Bloskey and Siebuhr.
“It makes you think about it and just understand, hug your kids and you can’t control what happens when you walk out the door,” Fridkin said.
On Thursday, a 45-year-old Olathe man was booked into the Johnson County Jail on one count of failing to stop at an accident resulting in death. Police confirmed that the arrest was in connection with the hit-and-run crash.
Because the man has not yet been formally charged, 41 Action News is not naming him.
Bloskey's death is the second loss in roughly two years for Kansas City Blues Rugby. In August 2016, player Patrick Mercer was killed in an accident at 63rd Street and Swope Parkway in Kansas City, Missouri. The team was on its way to dinner when a man ran a red light and crashed into Mercer.
