Sylvia Hatchell is ‘absolutely devastated’ by death of pedestrian, her lawyer says
Sylvia Hatchell, the former UNC women’s basketball coach, told police last week that she was making a left turn out of the parking lot at O2 Fitness in Durham when she struck a pedestrian with her driver-side mirror, according to a Durham police accident report.
Betty Sue Colby, 89, was hit, fell back and hit her head on the pavement at Farrington Road on Jan. 6, according to a Durham police press release.
Colby was transported to UNC Hospitals, where police were “unable to speak with her due to her condition,” according to the police report. Colby died two days later.
Hatchell was cited for misdemeanor death by vehicle on Jan. 10. A member of Colby’s family declined to talk to the N&O.
“Coach Hatchell is absolutely devastated by these turn of events,” Hatchell’s attorney, Dan Hatley, told The News & Observer on Monday. “The last time she saw Ms. Colby, she was coherent and speaking.
“We thought she was going to be fine.”
Hatley said investigators estimated Hatchell was driving 2 miles per hour when she hit Colby. He said Hatchell looked both ways before making the left turn. Hatchell told police that the woman “must have turned around to walk back in to the gym when she hit her with her driver side mirror causing her to fall.”
Police determined neither alcohol nor speed was a factor.
“This is a devastating tragedy and I cannot pretend to imagine what Mrs. Colby’s family is going through,” Hatchell said in a statement given to the media by her attorney Monday evening. “My heartfelt and deepest sympathies go out to them and I pray that they be shown God’s grace during this difficult time. I will continue to cooperate with the Durham County authorities in every way possible and ask that the news media respect the Colby family’s privacy in their time of grief.”
Hatchell’s court date for the misdemeanor death by vehicle charge is March 6. A conviction carries up to 150 days in jail and fines in an amount deemed appropriate by the judge, according to drivinglaws.org.
Hatchell coached the Tar Heels women’s program from 1986-2019. She resigned last year after an investigation alleged she made a racially insensitive comment and pressured players to play injured. She denied the latter allegation in an interview with The News & Observer in July.
Hatchell, who’s in the Naismith hall of fame, is the only women’s basketball coach to win national championships at three different levels — AIAW, NAIA and NCAA.
She won 751 games at UNC, including an NCAA title in 1994. Hatchell missed the 2013-14 season while undergoing treatment for leukemia. She returned the following year.
In February 2019, Syracuse basketball coach Jim Boeheim was involved in the death of a pedestrian. Boeheim was driving on an interstate at night when he swerved to avoid a disabled vehicle. He struck and killed a man. Boeheim was not charged, according to the New York Times.
This story was originally published January 13, 2020 at 11:18 AM with the headline "Sylvia Hatchell is ‘absolutely devastated’ by death of pedestrian, her lawyer says."
