Dutch Fork alum & championship college athlete killed, Columbia International says
Columbia International University is mourning the death of student-athlete John-Hunter James.
The Irmo native and Dutch Fork High School graduate was killed Monday in car crash in Georgia, CIU officials said in a news release.
James was one of four CIU students who were in the car that was involved in a traffic accident, university officials said. The other students suffered minor injuries, according to the release. Further information on their conditions was not available.
There was no word about where in Georgia the crash happened, the number of vehicles involved, or the cause of the collision.
James was a senior business major and one of the most decorated athletes in CIU’s history, university officials said.
James excelled in the pole vault, and is the only CIU athlete in men’s track field program history to have won an NAIA National Championship, according to the release. James won the NAIA Indoor Track & Field Men’s Pole Vault National Championship in both 2020 and 2021.
James was “everything you could ever want in a CIU student-athlete,” CIU Athletic Director Darren Richie said in the release.
“Before each meet he would pray with both his teammates and competitors,” Richie said. “His life was full of evidence of his love for Jesus Christ.
CIU is a Christian university that was established in 1923. It offers 24 undergraduate major programs, as well as graduate and seminary programs, to educate students “from a biblical worldview to impact the nations with the message of Christ,” the university’s website says.
CIU said it’s offering counseling services to students, faculty and staff.
The university also asked the community to pray for James’ family.
Information about funeral services has not been publicly released.
“It is extremely rare to find an athlete of John-Hunter’s caliber who is also a great student and an even better individual,” Richie said. “His legacy at CIU will last a very long time, and I am just happy we got to call John-Hunter one of our own.”
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This story was originally published March 7, 2023 at 7:43 AM.
