Skip to main content
Breaking News

Two BYU students die in car accident

BYU student, Dallin Hilton, stands in front of the World of color at Disneyland. Dallin, and his friend Stephen Altorfer, died in a car accident on the way back to school on Jan. 3. (Dallin Hilton Facebook)

BYU student Dallin Hilton stands in front of the World of color at Disneyland last April. Dallin died in a car accident on the way back to school on Jan. 3. (Dallin Hilton Facebook)

Two BYU students died in a one-car rollover on Sunday, Jan. 3 on I-70 on the Colorado side of the Utah border as they were traveling back to school following the Christmas break.

In memory of the two students — Dallin Hilton, 22, a junior from Huntingtown, Maryland, and Stephen Altorfer, 22, a junior from Fredericksburg, Virginia — BYU will be lowering the flag at the ASB to half-staff today, Jan. 7.

Funeral services for Dallin are scheduled in the LDS chapel at 900 S. 50 West, Orem, on Saturday, Jan. 9, at 11 a.m. Funeral services for Stephen are scheduled for 3 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 7 at 20 Boscobel Rd. in Fredericksburg, Virginia.

Dallin's brother, Kirgan Hilton, was injured in the crash and was brought to Saint Anthony's Central Hospital in Lakewood, Colorado.

Stephen and Dallin are fondly remembered on Facebook for their attitudes and their personalities.

Stephen Altorfer took a selfie of himself Dec. 2014. Stephen died in a car accident on

Stephen Altorfer in a selfie he took in December 2014. Stephen died in a car accident on Jan. 3 as he traveled back to Provo for school after Christmas break. (Stephen Altorfer Facebook)

'You're the kind of person that if you ended up being shipped wrecked (sic) on a deserted island and had run out of coconuts you'd still be enjoying yourself to a coconut bra and dancing around the beach waiting for help to arrive,' said Charlie Hutchinson, Stephen's former church leader.

Stephen was an Eagle Scout, served a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Idaho Boise Mission, and was a wrestling coach.

'There may be a right way and a wrong way — yet there was also Stephen's way!' William Altorfer, Stephen's father, said after the crash.

'They were both loyal, brave, goofy, good-hearted friends that would do anything for those they loved. They were also incredibly intelligent, talented, and hard-working. They were reliable, strong, and were men of integrity,' said Nick Roweton, a friend from BYU.

Dallin was a runner and a lifeguard.

Nancy Hilton, Dallins mother, reminisced on Facebook about the last day the family was together. 'It ended up being the perfect day for our family. Lots of laughter, playing together, watching movies, a shopping trip I took with just Kirgan and Dallin that was just so fun, and of course lots of good Hilton food to eat.'

Both families have sent an open invitation to come to the funerals.