Tragic car accident involving Lady Horn coaches

BC-RUN--Texas Coach Injured, 1st Ld-Writethru,390

URGENT

UT track coach Kearney injured in wreck that kills two

Eds: UPDATES with ages of victims, and ADDS that Freeman a former
world champion; LOWERS details of Olympic medal; ADDS byline

jv2lf2

By JIM VERTUNO=
AP Sports Writer=

AUSTIN (AP) _ Texas women's track coach Beverly Kearney was
critically injured in a car accident in Florida that killed a
university staff member and the mother of former world champion
sprinter and Olympic medalist Michelle Freeman on Thursday.

Kearney, 44, had surgery for back injuries at Shands
Jacksonville hospital Thursday, University of Texas officials said.

According to an accident report filed by the Florida Highway
Patrol, Freeman was driving a Lexus sport utility vehicle about 35
miles west of Jacksonville at 7:57 a.m. when the vehicle crossed
the median and swerved back, causing it to roll.

Killed in the accident was Ilrey A. Sparks of Austin, 40, an
academic counselor for women's athletics at UT. Freeman's mother,
Muriel Wallace, 63, who also lived in Austin, also was killed.

Freeman, 33, a former world indoor champion in the 100 meters
who also won bronze in the 400-relay for Jamaica in 1996, was
listed in good condition. Sparks' toddler daughter, Imani, 2, was
also in the vehicle and was listed in fair condition on the
accident report.

Freeman, Wallace and Imani Sparks were wearing seatbelts, the
accident report said. Kearney and Ilrey Sparks were not and were
both thrown from the vehicle. Alcohol was not a factor in the
crash, the police report said.

A seven-time national coach of the year, Kearney has led the
Texas women to four NCAA national team championships and 13 league
titles in the Big 12 and Southwest conferences since 1993.

Kearney has coached 22 Longhorns to 29 national titles in
individual and relay events, has had 33 All-Americans at Texas.

Kearney coached at the University of Florida from 1988 to 1992,
where she led the Gators to three Southeastern Conference titles.
Sparks and Freeman both ran for Kearney at Florida. The Gators won
the indoor national title in 1992 when she was voted the indoor and
outdoor coach of the year.

___=

On the Net:

University of Texas track and field:http://TexasSports.com



(Copyright 2002 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

APTV-12-26-02 1833CST

 

Terrible news. I don't know what to say except God bless them all.

 

My prayers go out to the families and victims of the accident.
Good luck to a speedy recovery.

 

May God be with them and their families.

 

May God bless all who are touched by this tragedy.

 

oh no. in the holliday season as well. prayers and thoughts for all affected by this. God Bless.

 

Kearney is in critical condition tonight (Thursday).

 

Wow. God Bless her and help her pull through this. This Longhorn is praying for you coach.

 

This is one outstanding woman. She is one of THE best coaches ever!

My thoughts go out to Coach Kearney and the others who were involved in this accidents. May God bless....

 

My prayers are with them and their families.

 

Prayers for those involved and affected from College Station, Texas.

God Bless

 

I hope she can get through this, this is indeed horrible news for our holiday season.

 

This is terrible news - my prayers are for them and their families. I wish Coach Kearny and Ms. Sparks had been wearing their seat belts.

 

Pray for all of them. God bless.

 

It seems like a lot of terrible tragedies like this happen around the holidays. That makes it all the more tragic. God Bless them and may He keep all others associated with the accident strong.

 

God bless them all.

 

A few more details:

---

 

Prayers

 

Horrible news. LSU prayers are with the UT family tonight. God Bless

 

Prayers to all lnvolved.

 

That really sucks. This is a time of year to be thankful and joyous, and then this kind of thing happens. May God be with all those who need Him.

 

My prayers, and I'm sure all HORNFANS, go out to all involved and all the LONGHORN FAMILY. GOD BLESS

 

Awful news.. My prayers for everyone and their families.

 

My thoughts and condolences are with them and their loved ones.

 

Prayers are powerful.

 

Oh Lord, bless all of these who suffer.

 

This is horrible news. My prayers are with those involved in the accident for their recoveries and for the souls of those who lost their lives. Also, prayers to the families of those involved. God Bless.

 

Prayers are on the way for all involved and their families

 

God bless them all. My prayers go out to them and their families

 

My thoughts go out to the those involved and their families. What a sad time for them when this should be a happy time of the year.