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College student dies after being hit by hammer during track meet

By Allen Cone
Wheaton College freshman Ethan Roser, 19, died after being accidentally struck at about 4:15 p.m. Saturday by the hammer during a track meet. Photo courtesy of Wheaton College
Wheaton College freshman Ethan Roser, 19, died after being accidentally struck at about 4:15 p.m. Saturday by the hammer during a track meet. Photo courtesy of Wheaton College

April 23 (UPI) -- A college freshman at a suburban Chicago college died after being hit by a hammer during a track meet, the private school said.

Wheaton College freshman Ethan Roser, 19, died after the accident about 4:15 p.m. Saturday, according to a statement by the school. Roser, who transferred from Cincinnati in January, was volunteering at the track meet.

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Paramedics treated Roser and he was transported to a local hospital, where he died, the statement said.

"We are deeply grieved, but, because of our faith in Christ, not without hope," said Wheaton College President Philip Ryken in a statement. "We ask people to pray for Ethan's family, his friends, and our campus community."

It wasn't known whether Roser was volunteering at the hammer throw or at a nearby event.

In the hammer event, athletes throw a metal ball -- 16 pounds for men and 8.8 pounds for women -- attached to a steel wire form inside a circle, according to International Association of Athletics Federation. The thrower usually makes three or four spins before releasing the ball.

Roser was a member of the men's soccer team, according to the athletic department's website.

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Wheaton College is a private interdenominational Christian liberal arts college 25 miles west of downtown Chicago. The school had an enrollment of 2,76 undergraduate and graduate students in 2015, according to the university website.

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