Eli Stickely (Photo/Sam Janicki, SJanickiPhoto.com)The car crash that killed University of Wisconsin wrestler Eli Stickley earlier this month was caused by cellphone use, according to an Illinois State Police report made public Thursday.
Just before the crash on July 5, Stickley was showing his girlfriend a video on his cellphone while driving. He lost control of the truck on I-74 westbound, about 35 miles southeast of the Quad Cities, according to the police report which was released as part of an open records request.
Stickley was driving a 2004 Nissan Titan pickup truck westbound at 8:19 p.m. when he drove off the roadway into the right-side ditch, according to the report. The vehicle turned left to re-enter the road, where it flipped multiple times.
Stickley, 21, was pronounced dead at Illini Hospital in the Quad Cities later that night. His passenger, Briana Cleveland, was hospitalized.
The Wisconsin State Journal -- a community newspaper in Madison, home to University of Wisconsin -- reported that Cleveland, 22, of Rosemont, Minnesota, was Stickley's girlfriend. She was released from the hospital on July 11. Cleveland is an athletic trainer for the Badgers who graduated from UW in May.
Cleveland told state police that Stickley was showing her a video on his phone just before the crash.
Both Stickley and Cleveland were wearing seat belts at the time of the crash; however, the airbags did not deploy.
Stickley died of blunt-force trauma to the head, according to the Rock Island County Coroner Brian Gustafson. No autopsy was performed; however, toxicology tests indicate that only caffeine was found in Stickley's system.
Gustafson said Stickley was a tissue donor, adding, "He saved multiple, multiple lives with his gift of donation."
Just before the crash, Stickley and Cleveland were last in a line of three vehicles in a group driving to Iowa City for an engagement party for Stickley's twin sister, Moriah. Stickley's parents were in other vehicles.
Elijah D. Stickley of Urbana, Ohio, was about to start his senior year as a Badger, having wrestled at 141 pounds. Prior to coming to Wisconsin, Stickley wrestled at nationally-ranked Graham High School in western Ohio, where he won the 120-pound Division II state title in 2014.
Eli Stickley's family has a long history with Badger wrestling. His uncle, Congressman Jim Jordan, won back-to-back NCAA titles in 1985 and 1986 while at Wisconsin. Another uncle, Jeff Jordan, wrestled for UW from 1983 to 1986.
Stickley's cousin, Isaac Jordan, competed for UW from 2012 to 2017.
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