Senior Micah Harris, a star defensive lineman for the football team, was killed Friday when he fell asleep at the wheel and his 1989 Volvo struck a tree in Brunswick County, Va. He was 21.
Harris was on his way to visit a friend in Richmond for the weekend when his car veered off Interstate-85. He died on impact shortly before noon, after which the car burst into flames.
Funeral plans have yet to be finalized, but head football coach Ted Roof said the ceremony would likely occur this weekend in Harris's hometown of Poland, Ohio. A memorial service at Duke will take place in the coming weeks, when the entire football team can be assembled.
"He was a high-enery guy that had worked real hard to make himself the player that he was," Roof said. "He liked to laugh, liked to have fun, liked to enjoy life, and he loved little kids too."
Harris, one of the most well liked and respected members of the team, was a two-year starter for Duke at defensive end and outside linebacker.
Led by quarterback Chris Dapolito and linebacker Giuseppe Aguanno, members of the football team remaining in Durham for the summer gathered with the coaches Friday night to reflect on Harris' life. Most of the team will also likely attend the funeral in Ohio.
"He was just the type of guy that you can put him to anyone and they genuinely like the guy," said Dapolito, Harris' roommate last year. "He was just that nice, that caring, just a funny guy all around."
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