Sarah Merritt, March 21, 2007, Ohio University

Associated Press Top of page Article

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. -- A 20-year-old Ohio University soccer player on spring break fell from a fifth-floor balcony at her hotel and died.

Witnesses told authorities that Sarah Merritt was climbing from the balcony of one room to another at the Comfort Inn & Suites when she fell about 60 feet Wednesday, Beaufort County sheriff's Capt. Bob Bromage said.

Merritt, a senior from Tipp City, Ohio, was staying with college friends at the hotel, authorities said.

<p>Sarah Merritt, 20, of Tipp City, fell 60 feet while climbing between adjacent balconies at a hotel in Hilton Head Island, S.C.</p>

Sarah Merritt, 20, of Tipp City, fell 60 feet while climbing between adjacent balconies at a hotel in Hilton Head Island, S.C.

Sarah Merritt successfully edged between fifth-floor balconies several times Wednesday while enjoying spring break at a hotel in Hilton Head Island, S.C.

The last time, she didn't make it. The forward on the Ohio University women's soccer team fell 60 feet to her death.

Merritt, 20, of Tipp City, just north of Dayton, had been warned by a friend not to climb between the balconies, which involved edging around a wall, police said.

Merritt and some teammates were sharing a room at the Comfort Inn and Suites, and a group of male OU students were in an adjacent room.

A friend had cautioned Merritt, saying, "Stop this -- you're going to fall," said Capt. Toby McSwain of the Beaufort County sheriff's office. "It's a shame."

Authorities are investigating the 4:15 p.m. incident, McSwain said. Autopsy results are pending.

Stacy Strauss, coach of the women's soccer team, accompanied Merritt's parents, Tom and Tammy Merritt, to Hilton Head Island, OU officials said.

In a statement, Athletic Director Kirby Hocutt said the Athens school was "saddened by this sudden and tragic death."

"We will make sure everything possible is done to help our student-athletes, particularly Sarah's teammates, coaches and staff, during this difficult time," he said.

Merritt, a junior education major, was credited with two assists on goals last season. She played soccer at Tippecanoe High School, where she was senior class president and senior homecoming queen.

Family, friends remember student who died in fall

TIPP CITY — Hundreds of Sarah Merritt's family and friends on Tuesday celebrated the life of the high school All-American soccer player and Ohio University student who a minister said "brought joy" everywhere she went.

Merritt, 20, died March 21 in a 60-foot fall from a hotel balcony while on spring break in Hilton Head, S.C. Investigators said she fell while climbing from one fifth-floor hotel room to another.

A video remembrance flashed on a big screen showed Sarah's life progress from an infant, smiling proudly with her younger twin sisters, hugging her parents, holding and later kicking a soccer ball, cuddling with a bulldog, wearing the Tippecanoe homecoming queen crown, graduating from high school, playing soccer at Ohio University and relaxing with her fiance. Dark hair framed the young face which always featured a huge smile.

"The world has lost a star ... but boy did heaven gain one," said her aunt Jeannette McGraw of Merritt Island, Fla.

Sarah was studying education, hoping to return to Tippecanoe High School to teach and coach. Jan Bishop, a high school English teacher described as a beloved teacher of Sarah's, said Sarah already was teaching others through her actions about humility and winning and losing.

Like any teacher, though, Bishop said Sarah had a test for family and friends, challenging them to grow through their grief from her death. "We may not all be getting "As," but she will not let us fail," Bishop said.

The Rev. Fred Gillenwater of Russell Road Christian Center in Sidney, a family friend, said he heard over and over while talking with her friends in recent days of Sarah's positive attitude and the joy she brought people.

"She's looking over the balconies of heaven from which she will never fall," he said.

The service was held at Ginghamsburg United Methodist Church near Tipp City. Contributions may be made to the Sarah Merritt Memorial Fund, in care of the Dayton Foundation, 2300 Kettering Tower, Dayton, Ohio, 45423

Student in fatal fall had climbed balconies before

HILTON HEAD, S.C. — The 20-year-old Ohio University student-athlete who fell to her death Wednesday had climbed from the balcony of one fifth-floor hotel room to another more than once before falling, said Capt. Toby McSwain of the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office.

McSwain said witnesses reported that Sarah Merritt, a Tippecanoe High School grad, was sharing a room with several other girls at the Comfort Inn & Suites near the south end of Hilton Head island. Several boys were staying in the room next door.

The rooms had small balconies that extended three or four feet from the side of the building, McSwain said. The balconies of adjacent rooms were only a short distance apart, but to get from one to the other requires reaching around a concrete pillar that blocks the view from one balcony into the next room.

McSwain said people who were with Merritt said she had climbed from one balcony to the other more than once.

"It's somewhat of an acrobatic feat, but she accomplished it several times during the day," McSwain said. "One of the witnesses said she told Miss Merritt that she ought to stop doing it because she could fall, and that's when she slipped."

McSwain said Merritt fell about 60 feet to a paved walkway shortly after 4 p.m. Wednesday. Emergency medical crews arrived a short time later but were unable to revive her.

McSwain said investigators found alcohol in the area where the students were staying, but it has not been determined yet if Merritt had been drinking.

McSwain said he was not sure how many students were staying in the two adjacent rooms, but he said, "It was quite a few."

Hilton Head is an island about 12 miles long and five miles wide, according to Charlie Clark, vice president of the Hilton Head-Bluffton Chamber of Commerce. It receives about 2.5 million tourist visitors a year, and Ohio is the No. 1 state supplying tourists to the area, Clark said.

Clark said March and April, traditional spring break season, is the beginning of Hilton Head's busy season, but she said the island is more of a family destination than a spring break hot spot for students.

McSwain said the island's resorts are more expensive than some other sites nearby, and college students typically look for inexpensive accommodations. The island has its share of problems with young spring break revelers.

The 19-year veteran said he remembers a case of alcohol poisoning in Hilton Head, but Merritt's accident is the first of its kind he's aware of on the island. "Mostly it's a lot of underage drinking and things like that we're dealing with," he said.

McSwain said it's been illegal to take alcohol onto Hilton Head's beaches since the early 1980s, and the city has had fewer spring break problems since that time.

Merritt was a two-time Division II All-Ohio soccer player at Tipp in 2002 and 2003. She was named a National Soccer Coaches Association All-American in 2003. She was attending Ohio University in Athens on a soccer scholarship.

The first Tipp girl to be named All-American in any sport, Merritt graduated with Tipp career records for goals in one season (28 as a junior and senior) and career (88).

Elected president of her senior class and also senior homecoming queen, Merritt led Tipp to three district soccer tournament appearances and, in 2001, the state semifinals.

"I know she was having a good time on the soccer team," Rabe said. "She went there to help build the program. They had a good one, but she was trying to make it better. That was her goal."

Last season, Merritt, a forward, played in all 19 of OU's matches, starting two. As a sophomore, she appeared in 16 matches before missing the season finale with a broken foot.

Thursday, August 30, 2007

Probe of student's death leads to alcohol charges Top of page

STEVE ROBB
Messenger news editor

Thursday, August 30, 2007

An Ohio University student was one of two Ohio men charged in South Carolina with furnishing alcohol to a group of underage persons. One member of that group was Sarah Merritt, the OU student who fell to her death during spring break at Hilton Head, according to a spokeswoman for the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office.

Matt Lawson, 22, of Dayton, a member of the Ohio University football team, forfeited $258 bond in Hilton Head Island Municipal Court earlier this month after not appearing for his court date on the misdemeanor charge, according to the court.

Earlier, a warrant had been issued for Lawson’s arrest, and he surrendered to authorities on July 30, Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Robin McIntosh said. He posted $465 in bond at the time of his arrest, and the remainder of the bond that wasn’t forfeited will be returned to him, according to the court.

“We’re aware of the situation and currently considering what to do,” said OU Athletic Director Kirby Hocutt. “Matt Lawson is a very good man, and a friend of Sarah’s.”

Hocutt said any action taken against Lawson will be consistent with the student athlete code of conduct, which students are expected to comply with whether on or off campus. Hocutt said he will make a decision on possible sanctions prior to the end of the week.

“It is obviously a very tragic incident and has deeply affected so many people,” Hocutt said, including Lawson.

The warrant that was issued on Lawson said he was accused of furnishing beer to underage people at the Comfort Inn & Suites. The warrent did not specify that Lawson provided beer to Merritt. According to a Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office report, Lawson and Seth Walton, 22, of Vandalia, allegedly admitted to buying alcohol for their underage friends.

An arrest warrant also was issued for Walton on a charge of furnishing alcohol to underage persons, and that warrant is still active, authorities said. Walton and Merritt were boyfriend and girlfriend.

“They are not charged in her death, that was ruled accidental,” McIntosh said.

Merritt, 20, an Ohio University women’s soccer player, fell from a fifth-floor hotel balcony March 21 at the Hilton Head Island Comfort Inn & Suites and died from head injuries. The Associated Press reported in May that Merritt had an elevated alcohol level, and that it was believed alcohol contributed to her death.

McIntosh said she did not know the time span between when alcohol was furnished to the group and when Merritt fell.

Witnesses told authorities that Merritt, who was from Tipp City, was climbing from the balcony of one room to another and fell about 60 feet, the AP reported.