LSU offensive coordinator Steve Ensminger and his family suffered a tragic loss on Saturday with the death of his son’s wife, Carley McCord, just hours before the Tigers took the field to face the Oklahoma Sooners in the Peach Bowl.
McCord, 30, was one of five people killed in a plane crash on Saturday morning en route to Atlanta, where LSU’s game was being held. Witnesses stated that the plane, which was attempting to return to the airport from which it took off, appeared to strike power lines and collided with vehicles in the parking lot of a local post office before being engulfed in flames. A sixth passenger on the plane survived and has been listed in critical condition.
The news of McCord’s death was so shocking to her husband, Steven Ensminger Jr., that he had to be rushed to the hospital and sedated — but he was later able to watch LSU’s game and, in text messages with Sports Illustrated, recall details of his phone call with his father and the final time his wife attempted to contact him.
Ensminger Jr. revealed that McCord had texted and called him earlier in the day while he was at work, but that he missed both because he didn’t have his phone on him.
Kelsey Driscoll 