WASHINGTON - Three days after experiencing the joy of qualifying for the World Cup, the US football squad was stunned and saddened Tuesday after starting forward Charlie Davies was hurt in a fatal crash.
Davies, a 23-year-old striker who plays for the French club Sochaux, was in stable condition after undergoing extensive surgery Tuesday for injuries suffered in a one-vehicle accident, US Soccer Federation officials said.
The injuries were described as not life-threatening by team officials but it was not certain exactly what injuries Davies had suffered or whether or not they might jeopardize his career.
Police were investigating the circumstances around the 3:15 a.m. crash, in which there was a fatality, US Soccer officials said.
US Park Police identified the person killed as Ashley Roberta, 22, of Phoenix, Maryland, a Washington suburb. An officer who arrived on the scene of the crash said the vehicle had been ripped in half.
Officials said Davies was a passenger in the vehicle involved in the accident on a major highway in suburban Virginia.
Davies started and played the first 78 minutes in the American team's 3-2 victory last Saturday at Costa Rica, assisting on the first US goal in a win that secured the US squad a berth in next year's World Cup at South Africa.
The US squad will face Costa Rica on Wednesday at RFK Stadium in the US capital in the final North American regional World Cup qualifying match, with Costa Rica seeking a victory to secure a World Cup berth.
Davies was not missed immediately because a morning team breakfast was optional but US coach Bob Bradley gathered playrs in a small meeting room at their hotel to deliver the shocking news early Tuesday afternoon.
"Obviously as a team we're saddened to learn this news," Bradley said. "Our thoughts and prayers are with Charlie and Charlie's family and the other person in the car and the others involved.
"The team has asked that any other thoughts we have, to keep them with the guys. As a team, we are relying on each other in a moment that has for sure hit us all hard."
Players were told in a team-only meeting but their reaction was the shock and sadness that might be expected, US Soccer spokesman Neil Buethe said.
"Obviously the players are very saddened by the situation and hope the Charlie has a quick recovery," he said.
US teen forward Jozy Altidore, who replaced Davies in Saturday's match, typed a series of frowning faces on his twitter page Tuesday afternoon and said, 'I'm not tweeting anymore y'all. Just not feeling well."
The US team's resiliency faces a major off-field test after a qualifying year in which American fortitude has been impressive in the wake of challenges on the field.
Americans have three triumphs and a draw in the final-round qualifying matches where they have surrendered the first goal.
Speaking purely of on-field events, US all-time scoring leader Landon Donovan praised the attitude players have shown in handling setbacks from bad passes and missed tackles to surrendered goals and stinging defeats.
"You can't always control what happens in the game but you can control how you react and that has been one of the big situations for us," Donovan said. "That has been a big plus for us this qualifying cycle."
Davies, a 2008 Olympian, has scored four goals in 17 matches for the US squad. He was first called up to the team in June of 2007 for a friendly against China after a solid showing with the Swedish club Hammarby.