Bluffton College football and track student-athlete Chris Mackey killed in automobile accident
By Tim Stried, SID
May 20, 2002
| Chris Mackey had just finished his freshman year at Bluffton College. He died Sunday afternoon in a car accident. |
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Visitation hours: Wednesday from 2:00 - 4:00 and 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. at the North Woodbury Alliance Church, 6385 St. Route 314, Mt. Gilead 43336. (419-362-6781) Funeral service: 11:00 a.m. on Thursday at the North Woodbury Alliance Church, 6385 St. Route 314, Mt. Gilead 43336. (419-362-6781) |
Bluffton College student-athlete Chris Mackey (Mt. Gilead, Ohio/Northmor High School) was killed in a car accident Sunday afternoon just north of his home in Mt. Gilead in Morrow County.
Mackey had just completed his first year at Bluffton College where he had competed in football and track and was pursuing a degree in education. He was 19 years old.
A passenger in Mackey's car was in stable condition and the driver of the second car was treated and released. All three persons were wearing their seat belts and air bags were discharged. Mackey's vehicle failed to yield at a stop sign on County Road 59 and was hit by an oncoming van on State Route 19.
On the track this spring, Mackey was Bluffton's top performer in the 400-meter dash and the 400-meter hurdles. He ran his fastest times of the year in both events at the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference championships hosted by Bluffton College on April 27. He took third place in the 400 meters (50.84 seconds) and took sixth in the 400-meter hurdles (58.95 seconds). Mackey also ran the first leg of the 4x400 meter relay, in which Bluffton finished second in the HCAC with a time of 3:27.22. All three times are the fastest for any BC athlete or relay team since Bluffton joined the HCAC in 1999.
Mackey was a four-year track letterwinner at Northmor High School and was a state qualifier in the 300-meter hurdles, where he placed 9th as a senior. In football, he was awarded the Heart & Hustle Award and was a second team All-Mid Ohio Athletic Conference selection at both wide receiver and defensive back.