Four others returning from spring break injured

Editor’s note: This story will be updated as new information becomes available.

Updated: Monday 2:10 p.m.

A Kent State student died Sunday from injuries sustained in a car accident on I-65 in Alabama Saturday in which four other Kent State students were also injured. The student, senior accounting major Joseph Marino, was a passenger in a 2001 Ford with the other students, who were returning from spring break.

According to social media reports the car in which Marino was traveling rolled over at least twice. Trooper Charles Dysart of the Alabama Department of Public Safety said Marino was not wearing a seatbelt and was ejected from the vehicle; he was airlifted from the scene to a Montgomery, Ala. hospital.

Also in the car were driver Nader Hassen, Lamar Washington, Michael Willis and Joseph Noah, according to a public information officer with the Alabama Department of Public Safety. All were injured in the accident — their conditions are unknown at this time.

The accident resulted in hundreds of comments on the Alabama I-65 Discussion Board, a chat room used to report traffic updates, inquiring about the students’ conditions. Many who posted in the chat room said they had witnessed the accident or were caught in the traffic jam that followed. Some said they had stopped to help the injured students and many offered prayers to the students and their families and conversed directly with “Jess,” a poster who identified herself as Marino’s cousin.

Jess continued to update the chat room on Marino’s condition throughout the night. The hashtag #prayforjage spread quickly among KSU students on Twitter and the Facebook page “Praying for JJ” was created Sunday.

“The Kent State community is sad to learn of the passing of Joseph J. ( “JJ”) Marino, one of our students, following a car accident in Alabama,” university spokesperson Emily Vincent said in an updated university statement at 10:45 a.m. Monday. “We express our deepest sympathy to his family and friends, many of whom showed their love and support for him on social media. The Kent State community continues to pray for all of those involved in the accident and their families. Counselors are available through University Health Services for those who need support during this difficult time.”

Dysart said a second vehicle was involved in the crash and identified it as a 2001 Freightliner tractor-trailer driven by John Purifoy from Ashville, Ala. Dysart said the circumstances of the accident are still under investigation.

Friends gathered at Marino’s off-campus house Sunday declined to comment.

[View the story “Friends remember JJ Marino through social media” on Storify]

Friends remember JJ Marino through social media

Storified by Kentwired.com· Sun, Mar 31 2013 19:09:26

Contact Rebecca Reis at [email protected].