Jamaican native and New Jersey track star, Mario Heslop, died on Monday, June 19th, following a three-vehicle collision in Somerset County, New Jersey, United States.
According to reports, the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office said that around 5:30 p.m. Monday, the 23-year-old was driving his vehicle eastbound on Hamilton Street in Franklin Township when his unit allegedly crossed the center line and collided with another car.
Reports are that the second car was then hit by a third vehicle traveling on the road.
Heslop was taken to a local trauma center where he was pronounced dead.
The Jamaican migrated to the US as a youth athlete and continued representing Jamaica in the sprints.
He also represented Franklin High School in New Jersey and was considered one of the top high school sprinters in the state’s history, setting the state record in the 200m in 2019.
Following his outstanding high school career, Heslop briefly attended North Carolina State A&T University and Life University in Marion, Indiana.
The Franklin High School graduate set the NJ State record for the 300-meter dash as a junior in 2018 and was described as “arguably one of the best high school sprinters in New Jersey”, ranking him the 2019 Indoor Athlete of the Year.
Reports are that he last competed in April when he took home first place in both the 100-meter and 200-meter races at the Kennesaw State University Invitational in Georgia.
