An 18-year-old freshman at Arkansas State University is in the intensive care unit at the Regional Medical Center in Memphis after an accident occurred Tuesday night at a fraternity house. University police tell the Sun newspaper Natalie Eaton of Harrisburg was badly hurt when a piece of a broken golf club pierced her neck. Her condition is not known. Officials say a 19 year old male student threw a football to another person who tried to hit the football with the golf club. The club’s shaft reportedly broke and pierced Eaton. A second student was hurt in the incident, but police say she was ok. The Sun report says Eaton was taken to St. Bernards Medical Center before being flown to Memphis. Arkansas State University Vice Chancellor Dr. Rick Stripling said in a statement that the University’s thoughts and prayers were with Eaton and her family. The statement also said that additional counselors and university staff were sent to the fraternity house and the hospital to provide support after the incident.
Johnathan Reaves is the News Director for KASU Public Radio. As part of an Air Force Family, he moved to Arkansas from Minot, North Dakota in 1986. He was first bitten by the radio bug after he graduated from Gosnell High School in 1992. While working on his undergraduate degree, he worked at KOSE, a small 1,000 watt AM commercial station in Osceola, Arkansas. Upon graduation from Arkansas State University in 1996 with a degree in Radio-Television Broadcast News, he decided that he wanted to stay in radio news. He moved to Stuttgart, Arkansas and worked for East Arkansas Broadcasters as news director and was there for 16 years.