The two died on the way to a morning swim practice.
Darrel Gray was a football coach at Adirondack Central.
His daughter Nora was a talented gymnast and diver.
West Leyden, N.Y. - It was a typical early morning for Darrel and Nora Gray.
Darrel, a modified football coach at Adirondack Central School District, was driving his daughter Nora, a diver on the swim team, to her practice at the school in Boonville on Thursday
They were running a bit behind so Nora texted her coach around 7 a.m. to say she would be a couple minutes late.
They never made it to practice.
Darrel, 52, and Nora, 17, died a short time later when the familyโs SUV crossed into the oncoming lane on the rural two-lane Route 294 in the town of Ava and collided with a tractor-trailer, according to the Oneida County Sheriffโs Office. The father and daughter were declared dead at the scene.
Darrel was a well-known youth and school football coach who often reached into his own wallet to help a player or a team, family and coaches said. He once helped pay to transport the body of a former player back home after the young man died of cancer and his family was struggling with expenses.
RIP ๐ค๐๏ธ๐ฏ๏ธ