Spectator killed by hammer weight thrown at high school track meet in

A man was accidentally killed at a high school track and field meet in Colorado on Sunday morning when a hammer weight thrown by a competitor cleared barriers and struck him, officials confirmed.

The El Paso County Coroner’s Office identified the spectator as Wade Langston, 57.

Langston was at a meet at the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs when the hammer — a weight attached to a grip that is swung in a circular motion and then thrown — went into the crowd rather than the field around 9:30 a.m., the college said in a statement.

“During a club sports track and field meet for high school students from across Colorado, taking place at the Mountain Lion Fieldhouse on the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs campus, a member of the attending audience was killed when a hammer thrown by a participant cleared certified barriers and struck him,” the statement said.

Erik Huffman, the head coach of the Colorado United Track Club, started an online fundraising campaign to support Langston’s family.

According to Huffman, Langston was the father of one of the athletes on the Colorado United team.

“The Colorado United Track Club, our coaches and helpers would like to extend our deepest condolences to the Langston Family,” Huffman wrote on the fundraising page.

An additional fundraising campaign established by Wade’s niece-in-law, Tamara Rocha, is raising money to help Wade’s son, a senior in high school, with college tuition.

“Wade was a devoted husband, loving father, cherished brother and brother-in-law, fun uncle, and an even more fun great-uncle,” she said.

Police and the Colorado Springs Fire Department provided medical care but then “ultimately pronounced the audience member dead at the scene.”

“We are heartbroken at this horrible accident and are focused on supporting all involved,” UCCS Chancellor Jennifer Sobanet said in the statement.

The track and field event was one of a three-meet series that began on Dec. 15, each of which were held at the UCCS campus.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com

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