By Matthew McWilliams

Published: March 23, 2008

A Randolph College freshman died in a car wreck in North Carolina on Thursday.

Jenna Grace King, 17, of Barhamsville, was driving in the area of Beulaville, N.C., when she was struck by another vehicle. She had at least one passenger in the car who sustained injuries, said school spokeswoman Brenda Edson.

Other details of the crash or why King was in North Carolina were not available to college personnel at press time, Edson said late Sunday.

The trooper from the North Carolina State Highway Patrol who arrived at the scene of the accident could not be reached for comment Sunday.

News of King’s death reached campus by late Thursday and the school sent out a mass e-mail Friday morning notifying faculty and students, Edson said.

“It was a shock to students — we had counselors available,” said Edson. “When you’re in a small community like this, it really is a loss … that first-year class is tight.”

Edson said the school would hold a candlelight vigil this week to remember King, a New Kent High School graduate, and some administrators plan to attend Tuesday’s funeral service at Tabernacle United Methodist Church in Barhamsville.

King is survived by parents, Billy and Melanie King, and brother William, according to a published obituary.

This is the first fatality Randolph College has experienced this school year, Edson said.

“Your prayers just go out to her family,” she said.