Prayer vigil honors car crash victim Eugene Quaynor
October 3, 2022
Dozens of ORU students prayed and worshipped together Thursday evening to remember the life of Eugene Quaynor, a soccer captain at Oral Roberts University.
Quaynor, a 23-year-old graduate student from Ghana, died late Wednesday after a suspected drunk driver smashed into his car at East 71st Street and South Yale Avenue, about 3 miles from campus.
ORU canceled its planned Culture Fest. And instead, students came to show their love for Quaynor and grieve in front of the International Student Center, where the crowd spilled out onto the lawn. The prayer vigil was set to end at 8:30 p.m., but students did not disperse until 10 p.m.
Midway through the service, Chrislaine Buckman, an ORU education senior who is also from Ghana, led an altar call, encouraging those who did not know Christ to accept Him. Many students responded and uttered the Sinner’s Prayer.
Other prayers focused on Quaynor’s soccer teammates.
“He was like a brother to them, and it is not easy to lose a brother,” one of the prayer leaders said.
ORU officials described Quaynor as “the epitome of the mission we strive for in our Athletic Department.”
“He was a leader on the field as a captain of the men’s soccer team and had a spirit-empowered heart ready to lead and impact the world for Jesus,’ ORU Athletics said in a statement before the prayer service. “His infectious smile will be missed all over the ORU campus, but his spirit will live on as we will never forget #27.”
Quaynor graduated in the spring with a degree in international relations and was working this fall toward a master’s in business.
A GoFundMe page for Quaynor’s family in Ghana had raised more than $34,000 by Friday evening toward a goal of $50,000.
