Breaking News: CNU student involved in fatal accident
3:11 p.m.: The Virginian-Pilot reported:
Three men died after their vehicle lost control on I-64 just before 11 p.m. Saturday and ran into a ditch, said officials.
Clarence Ramone Hill, 22, of Norfolk, Terrell Dontae Cherry, 22, of Newport News were pronounced dead at the scene. Brian Charles Herrmann, 21, of Newport News died at Sentera Norfolk Hopsital, said Sgt. Michelle Anaya of the Virginia State Police. A fourth passenger is at the hospital but in critical condition, she said.
The men were heading east on I-64 just half a mile west of Chesapeake Boulevard at a high rate of speed when it lost control and veered off the left side of the road.
Officials do not know if alcohol was a factor in the accident.
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2:35 p.m.: CNU Public Relations spokesperson Lori Jacobs said in a email that the Multicultural Student Association is holding a gathering at the outdoor basketball court today, April 17, at 3 p.m.
The administration is speaking with the family about their wishes concerning a memorial service.
Around 1:00 p.m. today, Kevin Hughes, Dean of Students, said in an email:
It is with a heavy heart that I share with you some sad news that has reached us.
Earlier today we were notified that CNU student Brian “Swerv” Herrmann was tragically killed in a car accident. Brian, a junior from Denbigh High School in Newport News, was a member of the basketball team who was widely recognized on campus for his energy, his smile, and his love of CNU.
Brian’s passing will impact each of us differently. Staff from the Office of Counseling Services are available for those who are seeking support. Additionally, residence life staff in each area can also provide comfort and support as well as direct people to additional resources. I encourage you to utilize these folks as needed.
As information becomes available regarding memorial services, I will share them with you. In the meantime, please provide comfort to each other, use the resources available to you, and keep Brian’s family, friends, and teammates in your prayers.
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At 11:46 a.m. CNU Public Relations Spokesperson Lori Jacobs released this statement:
“The CNU administration has been notified of a fatal accident that took place in Norfolk involving a CNU student. The student’s name will be released pending approval from the authorities. The CNU Police Department, the Office of Counseling Services, the Office of Student Affairs and the CNU administration are in communication and will work to provide support for those affected by this tragedy.”
Multiple sources have confirmed that the student is Junior Brian Herrmann, referred to by his friends as Swerv Gotti. Swerv was a member of the Men’s Basketball team at CNU.
Photo by Heidi Naylor/ cnusports.com
Herrmann’s family has been notified.
More information regarding the accident will be posted as it comes in.
Posted by Sam Thrift
on Apr 17 2011. Filed under Breaking News, News.
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Seriously, stop fighting. It’s so selfish of everyone commenting on this to worry about it- a student just lost his LIFE. This is the time when we band together, stay strong, and show our support.
Get over yourselves, and realize what’s happened.
This is about Swerv and his family.
Regardless of how the information was released, our first concern should be him and his family.
Absolutely couldn’t agree more. Let it go and see what’s going on here. Hop on Facebook or CNU’s sports page and see how much this has truly affected everyone. This was an amazing student and this is not the place for your political correctness.
RIP Swerv. We will miss you dearly.
Doesn’t the article say his family was already notified, or was that amended after the initial post? If the family knows then this article is important and timely for the Cnu community.
this needs to be removed. now.
who are you to publish this without his name even being released….
I think it is pretty disrespectful to the family of the student who was killed to publish his name like that. There is a reason CNU administration did not release the name yet. Did you ever think that maybe they were still trying to contact members of his family? How would you feel if you found out one of your family member’s passed away by reading their school’s online newspaper? I think you should have been respectful of that instead of trying to look like a “good reporter” by finding out and releasing it.
Did you just read the same thing I did? His name is nowhere in this article. I think it would’ve been more disrespectful to ignore the situation as if it doesn’t matter.
Anonymous and CNU student,
No I did not read the same thing you did. Earlier the reporter released the name even before CNU Admin had gotten the approval from the proper authorities (which may have meant that there were still family members to notify), but it was then taken down. You read the article after it was taken down. ^_^
Since the original post with the name being released without approval and the pose with just Lori Jacob’s statement they have updated the article again because CNU admin made a statement which means that they got approval which I’m assuming means that everybody who needed to be notified as been notified.
Remember, online news stories are changed and updated all the time so what you read right now is not necessarily what was online an hour or two ago. ^_^