Former Gophers women’s hockey recruit Elizabeth Turgeon was killed in a two-car accident near Vaughn, N.M. early Thursday morning. 

Turgeon collided with a semi-truck heading in the opposite direction after failing to stop at an intersection.  She was pronounced dead at the scene.

In the fall of 2009, Turgeon signed a national letter of intent to play with the Gophers as part of this year’s freshmen class.  She never enrolled at Minnesota, however, due to personal reasons.

Turgeon graduated from Valor Christian High School in Highlands Ranch, Colo. last spring.  She played for the Colorado Selects throughout high school and was teammates with Gophers freshman Amanda Kessel on the U.S. Under-18 national team that won a gold medal at the 2008 Under-18 World Champions.

Turgeon’s passenger, Colorado Selects teammate Brittany Kraemer, survived the crash but sustained life-threatening injuries; the driver of the semi-truck was uninjured.

Turgeon is the daughter of 19-year NHL veteran Pierre Turgeon.