Two-time plane crash survivor, Austin Hatch, scores first goal in college sports
Thursday, November 13, 2014
Austin Hatch, 20, a survivor of two separate plane crashes, scored his first basket in college basketball on Monday night, for the University of Michigan.
The shot was his second of two free throw attempts. Media photos showed University of Michigan coach John Beilen congratulating Hatch.
Hatch survived a plane crash and eight-week coma in 2011, an accident that killed his father and step mother. Hatch had previously survived a separate crash in 2003, that killed his mother, brother and sister. Hatch's father was the pilot in both of those accidents.
Hatch, raised in Fort Wayne, Indiana, moved in 2013 to his uncle's home in California. He committed verbally to play sports with the university in 2011, and formally signed an agreement in November 2013. Of the tragedies, Hatch told reporters, "Obviously, it's a big part of my life, but I'm about moving forward and making the most of my experience here."
Sources
- "Austin Hatch" — Michigan Wolverines, November 13, 2014 (date of access)
- AP. "Plane crash survivor sinks 1st college shot" — The Kansas City Star, November 11, 2014
- Cindy Boren. "Two-time plane crash survivor Austin Hatch makes emotional free throw for Michigan" — The Washington Post, November 11, 2014