A 21-year-old New Canaan woman was killed in a crash in Virginia early this morning.
Virginia state police said Kelsey H. Durkin, 21, of New Canaan, was a back seat passenger in the 2006 Chevrolet Tahoe that went off the road in in Rockbridge County around 1:30 a.m., hit a tree stump and flipped over.
Durkin was a senior at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia, according to a school statement.
She was not wearing a seatbelt and was thrown from the SUV, according to Virginia State Police.
A private car brought her to the Carilion Stonewall Jackson Hospital, where she was pronounced dead on arrival, police said.
“There are no words to express the grief we feel over the loss of someone taken from us so suddenly and tragically. In the days ahead, in the weeks and months ahead, our sadness will be lessened only by the memories of her time with us,” a statement from the school says.
Ten Washington and Lee students were in the vehicle that the crash in an area that appears to be about 9 miles away from campus.
The driver, who police identified as Nicholas Perry Hansel, 21, of New Orleans, was brought to Carilion Stonewall Jackson Hospital to be treated for minor injuries. He was released and charged with driving under the influence and refusal and is being held in police custody.
Two other students were airlifted to the University of Virginia Medical Center and one was airlifted to a Virginia hospital.
Three other students were treated for their injuries at Carilion Stonewall Jackson Hospital and two students refused treatment, police said.
The Washington and Lee 2013-2014 sorority recruitment book lists Durkin as a recruitment counselor who guided women through the sorority recruitment process.
