Oklahoma State wrestler AJ Ferrari and track athlete Isai Rodriguez were hospitalized after a serious car crash Monday night.
According to the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, Ferrari was driving his 2019 Dodge Durango with Rodriguez as his passenger on Highway 33 near Perkins, Oklahoma, at about 8 p.m., when he "attempted to pass 3 vehicles while cresting a hill." Ferrari's SUV hit an oncoming vehicle, then left the roadway to the left and overturned several times before coming to rest in a ditch.
The cause of the collision was listed as "passing in a no-passing zone."
The other driver, Valenda McKee, 56, of Ripley, Oklahoma, was not injured, according to the report. The OHP said all drivers were wearing seat belts.
Ferrari, the NCAA champion in the 197-pound weight class, was transported via helicopter to a hospital in Oklahoma City, where he was listed in fair condition.
Rodriguez, a multiple-time NCAA All-American in cross country, was transported by helicopter to a hospital in Stillwater. According to the police report, he was listed in fair condition with internal, arm, leg and head injuries.
On Tuesday, Oklahoma State track coach Dave Smith said Rodriguez was healing.
"He seemed to be in good spirits and feeling pretty good," Smiith said. "Thankfully, it didn't seem like anything real serious, and I think he is about to be released. They are running a few tests and had to keep him overnight. From everything I've seen he is going to come out of this OK."
According to Oklahoma State, the two athletes were returning to Stillwater after an appearance at a youth wrestling practice in Cushing.
OSU football offensive coordinator Kasey Dunn, who was coincidentally in a car that Ferrari passed, witnessed the crash and was able to pull Ferrari to safety after the SUV caught on fire, a source told ESPN, confirming a report by Pokes Report.
After the accident, Dunn approached Ferrari's car, which was about 10 to 15 yards off the road. There was a small fire burning on the the car's hood, and Dunn and another man scrambled around the car, attempting to open all the doors to find a way into the car to rescue Ferrari.
Witnesses said that both Dunn and the other man ended up entering the back of the SUV through the broken rear window. They pulled Ferrari out by his arms through the back window. Shortly after extracting him, the car was engulfed in flames.
Soon after, the unknown man who helped Dunn ended up leaving the scene.
Oklahoma State wrestling coach John Smith praised Dunn, who called him right after the accident, for helping to free Ferrari from the wreck.
"He did his citizen duty to help someone," he said. "I don't know how many people would go to a car that was on fire and pull them out, but I'm sure glad Coach Dunn was there."
He said Dunn was obviously rattled by the experience.
"You could hear it in his voice," he said. "There was some fright to it. When you have another coach telling you that and you knowing him well, you're just thinking the worst and hoping and praying for the best. ... I'm sure glad he was there."
Ferrari's father said in a Facebook post that it appeared that his son had no broken bones.
"He has fluid in his lungs that is affecting his oxygen levels and some bad bruising with some internal bleeding, so they are keeping him here," the father wrote.
Ferrari, 20, is one of the biggest stars in college wrestling and signed an NIL deal with the WWE's "Next in Line" program in December.
"If you saw the car and AJ, you would know this was a miracle," his father wrote.
"They're lucky," said John Smith, who lives close to where the accident happened and showed up on the scene right after the athletes were taken by helicopter. "Seatbelts save lives. Both the athletes had their seatbelts on. It was a bad wreck for AJ and for Isai, when you look at the car.
"There was definitely somebody watching over those two and the others that were involved in the wreck. They were definitely lucky to walk away from it with minor injuries."
ESPN's Pete Thamel contributed to this report.