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Tiara Wheeler was 24 years old.
Her father, Tyson Wheeler, played for the University of Rhode Island men's basketball team as point guard from 1994 to 1998 when the Rams advanced to the NCAA Elite Eight before being drafted by the Toronto Raptors. He later appeared in an NBA game as a member of the Denver Nuggets in 1999.
The crash took place in New London County on Monday, Aug. 28 at around 9:30 p.m. in Groton at the intersection of Long Hill Road and the Meridian Street Extension.
As an Audi approached the intersection of Meridian Street Extension on a left green arrow allowing it to make a left turn, several dirt bikes and ATVs ran a red light and a dirt bike hit the vehicle, according to Groton Police.
A passenger in one the dirt bikes, later identified as Tiara Wheeler, a resident of Norwich in New London County, was thrown from the dirt bike and struck the Audi, causing fatal injuries at the scene, police said.
She is also survived by her mother, Farrah, and brothers Tyson Jr. and Tevin; according to her obituary.
After graduating in 2017 from Norwich Free Academy, where she was a four-year member of the Student Advisory Board (SAB), an organization that promotes student leadership, she attended Fairfield University where her father was an assistant coach on the men's basketball team. She graduated from Fairfield in 2021 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Public Health.
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