Police: Errant Hammer Throw During Warmups Killed Wheaton Student
By Don Babwin, Associated Press
Police: Errant Hammer Throw During Warmups Killed Wheaton Student
By Don Babwin, Associated PressA suburban Chicago college student was fatally struck by an errantly thrown hammer during warmups for a track and field meet, authorities said Monday.
The hammer — a steel wire attached to a heavy metal ball that can weigh as much as 16 pounds — struck 19-year-old Wheaton College freshman Ethan Roser in the head during Saturday’s meet, said Bill Murphy, Wheaton’s deputy police chief.
Roser, of Cincinnati, was volunteering at the meet and was going to measure the throws.
An autopsy conducted Monday by the DuPage County Coroner’s office determined, as expected, that the preliminary cause of death was head trauma.
Murphy said investigators would continue to look into whether there was any criminal negligence, but so far they don’t suspect any. Wheaton College declined to say whether it would conduct its own investigation.
Students at the Christian college about 25 miles west of Chicago gathered after the meet to pray for Roser, who transferred there in January from a school in Cincinnati.
Roser spent much of his childhood in Zimbabwe, where his parents were missionaries, and he was deeply religious. His mother, Pat Roser, said Ethan’s faith played a big role in how he dealt with a leg injury in high school and in his decision to attend Wheaton.
“That just totally changed him, and he wanted to go and tell other young people about God,” she told the Daily Herald. “That’s what he was doing at Wheaton.”
Roser’s father, the Rev. Mark Roser, described his son as “just a really special kid” who considered his family members to be his best friends.
“We’re having a really hard time saying goodbye and letting go,” he told the newspaper. “We know God’s in control, and he works everything out even though it’s beyond our comprehension.”