A Cal State Fullerton women’s soccer player died on Nov. 7 following nearly six weeks in the ICU after a box truck hit her and a teammate while they were riding e-scooters off campus, the university announced.
Lauren Turner, a sophomore from Tustin and a defensive midfielder for the Titans, died weeks after the Sept. 27 crash that hospitalized her and her teammate Ashlyn Gwynn.
“Lauren was the funniest, most charismatic and loving teammate you could ever ask for,” the women’s soccer team said in a statement. “She was the first to celebrate other people’s wins. She is the true definition of an amazing person. She always carried herself with compassion, kindness and happiness.”
“The impact she made on the Titans women’s soccer program is immeasurable,” the team continued. “She will be dearly missed by everyone but forever remembered by her Titan family. We love you Lauren, our No. 5 Forever.”
Turner and Gwynn, also a sophomore, were riding e-scooters to a men’s soccer game around 7 p.m. when a box truck hit them near Associated Road and Yorba Linda Boulevard, police said. Officers found them in the street with “significant, life-threatening” injuries before they were hospitalized.
The teammates were not wearing helmets at the time of the crash, head coach Demian Brown said last month. Since the crash, Brown said he implemented a rule requiring his players to wear helmets whenever they rode e-scooters and e-bikes and said he hoped to push for helmet rules for all Cal State Fullerton athletics and other NCAA programs.
A GoFundMe created after the crash raised more than $104,000 to support Turner’s family. Family said Turner was an Orthodox Christian, a determined soccer player who encouraged her teammates and a loyal friend.
“Her teammates and coaches have shared countless stories of her positivity, humor, competitiveness and leadership – reminders of the light she carried both on and off the field,” Turner’s family wrote on GoFundMe. “As her family, we always knew the goodness and light that shone within her, but to hear others speak of it affirms what a true blessing she was to everyone who knew her.”
The CSUF women’s soccer team and the Athletics Department are hosting a candlelight vigil in honor of Turner on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. on the field at Titan Stadium.
Since the crash, Brown said he had visited his players’ families in the hospital repeatedly to provide support and check in on them. He also helped coordinate travel for Gwynn’s family, who are from Utah.
On the field, he said Turner was talented and technical, and Gwynn is one of the Titans’ fastest players.
Turner played 10 games this season and started in various positions for eight of them, Cal State Fullerton’s Athletics Department said in a statement. She played a major role in the team’s unbeaten start to the 2025 season and played a full 90 minutes in the Titans’ win against the University of Pittsburgh, helping the team earn its second-ever win against an ACC team, athletics officials said.
Her freshman year, she played in all 20 games, starting four times, and scored her first collegiate goal at home against the University of California, Riverside last year.
In a GoFundMe created to support Gwynn’s family after the crash, loved ones shared on Oct. 30 that she was moved out of the ICU and would begin daily occupational, physical and speech and swallowing therapy. Gwynn’s recovery will be long but family said that she can nod, follow moving objects with her eyes and move her arms and legs.
Gwynn was also cleared for air travel as family said they’re hoping she’s accepted into a rehabilitation program in Houston before she is eventually released for one to two years of outpatient rehabilitation at home.
“We are thankful for everyone’s support, thoughts, prayers and wishes,” Gwynn’s family wrote. “Just one month ago her doctors couldn’t tell us whether she would survive. We are witnessing a miracle in her healing right now and are blessed to still have her with us.”