HOLLAND, Mich. – A blind Hope College student died after being struck by a train. The student apparently didn’t realize how close she was to the tracks, according to police.
At 6:20 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 11, Holland officers and firefighters responded to 10th Street near Lincoln Avenue after receiving a report that someone had been hit by a train.
When they arrived, they found 20-year-old Jennifer Kasunick, of Bay Village, Ohio, unconscious and not breathing.
Life-saving efforts were administered, and the student was taken to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Investigators talked to witnesses and obtained video footage of the accident.
They learned that Kasunick was walking westbound on the 10th Street sidewalk when she stopped just east of the tracks.
The train signals had been activated for the train, but police say she apparently didn’t realize how close she was and was clipped by the train as it passed.
Authorities say drugs and alcohol are not believed to be factors.
Hope College President Matthew A. Scogin released a statement on Jan. 11 notifying the community of the accident. He said that Kasunick’s “joyful spirit was a constant source of warmth and light,” and shared that her service dog, Rowdy, had survived.
Dear campus community,
Earlier this evening, we lost one of our own students in an unimaginable accident. Jennifer Kasunick was struck by a train near 10th Street and did not survive.
Jennifer, a junior from Bay Village, Ohio, was a well-loved member of our community. I imagine almost every one of you receiving this email knew Jennifer. And to know her was to love her. Her joyful spirit was a constant source of warmth and light - especially in Phelps Hall, where she served as an RA alongside her service dog Rowdy, who survived.
I know that hearing this news will raise many questions, some practical in nature and some spiritual in nature. I, too, have questions, and I don’t have answers. I don’t know why God would allow this to happen. What I do know is that Jennifer is with God now, and she understands what we cannot.
Tonight, we will be hosting an all-campus gathering in Dimnent Chapel at 10 pm [on Jan. 11] led by Campus Ministries to begin the process of grieving. Staff from Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) and Student Development will be at the prayer gathering in person for support. Please join us as we grieve together as a community.
We ask for your prayers and support for Jennifer’s family and friends. Such news deeply affects all of us. Our mourning process will be messy, difficult, and long. But we will do it together. And we grieve with hope. (1 Thes 4:13)
Hope College President Matthew A. Scogin
