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PROVO - When her best friend hit a hurdle and fell at a recent track meet, BYU freshman Chelsi Petersen of St. George had to be talked into running her race moments later because she was so concerned her teammate was in distress.
"She was just very thoughtful and caring of other people's well-being before her own," said that friend, Mindy Robins.
Friends and family are in mourning after Petersen died Friday in a car accident.
She was 20.
The vehicle Petersen was riding in made a left turn in front of an eastbound car Friday morning on State Road 189 in Provo Canyon, where she died at the scene, according to a Utah Highway Patrol spokesman.
Former BYU sprinter Paul Smith, 24, who recently qualified for the U.S. Olympic Trials in Eugene, Ore., was driving the vehicle and was taken to Utah Valley Regional Medical Center after suffering a fractured clavicle, broken ribs and a collapsed lung.
The driver of the other car and a passenger suffered minor injuries, according to the UHP.
Petersen, nicknamed "Cho" by her BYU coaches and teammates, had just completed her first season of competition by finishing seventh in the heptathlon with a career-high 4,883 points at the Mountain West Conference championships.
The eldest of three children of Bill and Lisa Petersen, Chelsi Petersen graduated from Dixie High in 2006 and was also a cheerleader, principal Larry Bergeson said Friday, describing her as a vibrant, cheerful, outgoing and driven person from a wonderful and highly respected family.
"Everyone who knew her loved her," said her high school track coach, Lee Goodrich.
BYU's track team gathered to mourn together in Provo on Friday afternoon as word of the tragedy spread, while coaches attended to Smith, who is originally from Las Vegas.
"It's a devastating loss to the track team and to this university," said Petersen's event coach, Dick Legas. "She had a bright future. We were looking to her to be an All-American someday. . . But really, [athletic accomplishment] is small stuff right now, stuff that doesn't matter."
Team captain Nicole Rasmussen said the team will gather together again today to work on a quilt with pictures for Petersen's family, which often accompanied the team on trips.
"The biggest word to describe her would be 'strong,'" Rasmussen said. "She had a lot of life."
Robins said she presumed Smith and Petersen had "gone to the hot-pots [warm springs]" in Midway because they asked her to go earlier in the day but she couldn't because of a class in Salt Lake City. She said the two were good friends, but not romantically involved, because Petersen was in a serious relationship with a boyfriend currently on an LDS Church mission.
The teammates described Petersen as the funny one on the team who could make everybody laugh.
"I know she would have done some amazing things, if she had had the opportunity," Robins said.
Troopers said Smith and Petersen were wearing their seat belts and don't believe speed was a factor. Smith told BYU coaches from his hospital bed that he simply didn't see the oncoming car.