Milligan University will celebrate the life of sophomore student-athlete Eli Cramer at a memorial service today, Tuesday, April 5, 11:00 a.m., in Seeger Memorial Chapel.
This event will be live streamed on the Milligan University Facebook page and YouTube channel.
The Triangle Newsletter in our hometown in Williamsburg, VA where this tragic event occurred in the days prior to the Colonial Relays printed this summary:
A 20-year-old college track athlete has died after being struck by a drunk driver in York County.
The student-athlete, Eli Cramer, was part of the Milligan University cross country and track and field team. He was on a practice run alongside three other student runners and their assistant coach when an intoxicated driver plowed into the group, according to WTKR News 3.
The accident happened on Williamsburg Pottery Road on Thursday, shortly after 6:00 pm.
Cramer, a Sophomore, died from his injuries at Sentara Williamsburg Regional Medical Center. Two other students, Eli Baldy and Alex Mortimer, were injured and transported to the hospital, Virginia State Police said. Both were treated and have since been released, according to officials from Milligan University.
“The past 24 hours have been unimaginable for our campus and have left a hole in our community. Eli Cramer was our friend, classmate and teammate. Above all, Cramer was a stranger to no one. He held a contagious energy that was integral to his team and our campus community,” Milligan University Student Government President Chase McGlamery said in a statement shortly after the incident occurred. “Cramer was one of the best, but he never looked down on anyone. He saw people for people and loved them for who they were.”
Alex Mortimer, who underwent surgery at Sentara after suffering from a broken leg and dislocated shoulder, expressed gratitude for the public’s prayers and support in a Facebook video posted from his hospital bed Thursday night.
“I want to say that moments like this make you realize what is and is not important in your life, and my exhortation to our school tonight from Williamsburg, Virginia, is do not forsake or discount the beauty and gift of life. It is like a vapor and it flashes before our eyes,” Mortimer said.
Jose Efrain Hernandez Mancia, 26, of Williamsburg, allegedly fled the scene after the accident. He was apprehended by officers after he crashed into a nearby median on Route 199.
Mancia was arrested and charged with a litany of offenses, including DUI-1st offense, DUI-involuntary manslaughter, felony hit and run, reckless driving, DUI-maiming and DUI-refusal to submit a breath/blood sample.
