Kenyon College Swimmer Dies in Van Accident

GAMBIER, OH – Molly Hatcher, a senior at Kenyon College, was killed in a van accident at approximately 6:40 p.m. on Thursday, January 13, 2000, near Coshocton, Ohio. She was a daughter of Patricia and Albert Hatcher of Evanston, Illinois.

Hatcher was a passenger in the van, which was returning with members of Kenyon’s women’s swimming and diving team to the campus following a meet at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The van was traveling along U.S. 36 at Township Road 115 when the driver lost control and the van hit the guardrail and flipped. According to the state trooper who reported the accident, road conditions were very poor.

“The entire College community mourns the untimely loss of Molly Hatcher,” said Kenyon President Robert A. Oden Jr. “A deeply caring young woman, Molly was a popular student on the College’s campus, where she was joined earlier this year by her sister, first-year student Emily Hatcher.”

Several other Kenyon students were injured in the accident, which occurred on U.S. 36 east of Coshocton. First-year students Jessica Case and Katherine “Kate” Holland were life-flighted to Grant Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, where they are listed in fair condition.

Hatcher, a psychology major and the captain of the women’s swimming team, was in her fourth year as a member of the team, for which she participated in a number of events. The team won its sixteenth consecutive NCAA Division III championship in March 1999.

Kenyon students will return to campus this weekend following their winter vacation, and classes will resume on Monday, January 17. The College will sponsor an informal gathering on Sunday, January 16, for students and other community members to remember Hatcher.

Hatcher’s family has scheduled a memorial service in her hometown at the Unitarian Church of Evanston for Monday, January 17. A campus memorial service will be announced at a later date.

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