Univ. of Richmond staffers were on balloon that crashed

Associated Press

DOSWELL, Va.

A University of Richmond women’s basketball assistant coach and team staff member were the passengers aboard a hot-air balloon that drifted into a power line, burst into flames and crashed in Virginia.

University administrators said in a news release Saturday that associate head coach Ginny Doyle and director of basketball operations Natalie Lewis were two of the three people aboard the balloon that crashed the day before. Investigators say the remains of two people were found about a mile apart in dense woods, and the search continued for the third body.

“Words cannot begin to express our sorrow,” Keith Gill, the school’s athletic director, said in a news release. “We are all stunned by the tragic news. Our thoughts and prayers go out to their loved ones.”

More than 100 searchers spent the day scouring the woods and fields around the crash site for the third victim and any remnants of the balloon. The search was being scaled back as darkness approached but was set to resume today. Investigators declined to say whose remains already had been found.

Lewis just completed her second year as director of basketball operations for the Richmond women’s basketball program, according to a profile on the university’s website. The Buffalo, N.Y., native was a four-year letter winner and two-time captain of the Spiders’ swim team.

Doyle, who graduated from Richmond in 1992 after a standout basketball career, served on the team staff for 16 years after that — including nine winning seasons. She earned all-conference honors twice as a player.