Accident June 2; Died June 8.
Batavia graduate Kevin Bryant dies after rafting accident in Colorado
Published: 6/9/2008 11:25 AM
Former Batavia High School basketball standout Kevin J. Bryant died Sunday, less than one week after a rafting accident in Colorado. Bryant, 21, was taken off life support at 7 p.m. Sunday at the Medical Center of the Rockies in Loveland, Colo., according to hospital officials. Bryant had been rafting down the Poudre River in Fort Collins June 2 when he was thrown from the raft and went under the water. According to reports, Bryant was apparently trapped underwater for a time after the raft flipped and his friends reportedly performed CPR successfully before he was airlifted to the medical facility. Because of a lack of oxygen to the brain, he was placed on life support.
Larimer County Deputy Coroner Greg Fairman said the river had been running high and rough. At least one other person drowned in the river last week, he said. Bryant twice was named to the Daily Herald's All-Area team and helped the Bulldogs win a sectional championship in 2003 and a regional title in 2004, his senior season. "He was a tremendous leader, a tremendous competitor," Batavia head coach Jim Roberts said. "He was like a coach on the floor. He made my job a lot easier. There's just an unbelievable emptiness." Bryant graduated last month from Illinois Wesleyan University, where he was a three-year varsity player for the Titans. "This is a very sad day for our basketball program and the entire Illinois Wesleyan community," IWU coach Ron Rose said. "Kevin really epitomized all that's good about a college student-athlete. Kevin was so highly respected by all those who came in contact with him because he was such a hard worker and fierce competitor on the court but such a gentleman and the most loyal of teammates off it."
