WASHINGTON — The Catholic University of America community is grieving tonight over the announcement that an assistant coach with the school’s Athletic Department was killed in a bicycle accident.
According to a release from the school’s public affairs office, Jamie Roberts died Friday while riding her bike across the country in support of cancer research.
A Rockville, Maryland native and 2011 graduate of St. Mary’s College of Maryland, Roberts was the assistant sports information director and an assistant coach of CUA’s women’s basketball team for the past three years.
“Jamie was an incredible mentor to our young women and friend to us all,” said Matthew Donohue, CUA’s head women’s basketball coach. “In typical Jamie fashion, she was spending her summer dedicating herself to assisting others who have been dealt some very challenging life hurdles.”
According to the release, she was traveling in Scott County, Kentucky, with a group affiliated with the Ulman Cancer Fund, when she and another rider were struck by a truck. The group of five cyclists had been stopped while Roberts was changing a tire. She was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident. The other injured rider sustained non-life-threatening injuries.
“It came as little surprise to anyone who knew Jamie when she quietly revealed how she had taken up the daunting challenge of riding her bike some 4,400 miles from Baltimore to Portland to contribute to improving the quality of life for others,” said CUA Athletic Director Sean Sullivan.
“With little fanfare, she took on this remarkable physical and emotional quest because she felt as though others were in need and she could help. She also displayed these selfless qualities each and every day we were fortunate enough to work with her.”
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