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EVMS student killed after suspected drunk driver slams into vehicle

Posted at 4:56 PM, Apr 24, 2016
and last updated 2016-04-25 22:12:27-04

NORFOLK, Va. - A spokesperson for EVMS says one of their first-year students was killed in a crash that happened Sunday morning.

23-year-old Maryland resident Nancy Kelly was in the front seat passenger of a Dodge Caravan when they were rear-ended by a Toyota Rav-4 driven by Thomas Walters of Virginia Beach.

It happened just after midnight at the intersection of E. Princess Anne Road and Sewells Point Road.

The crash caused the car Dodge Caravan to crash into a Mitsubishi Galant, but the driver was not injured and refused medical treatment.

Nancy was listed in critical condition but she passed away before 7:30 a.m.

Walters was taken to the magistrate's office where he was charged with driving under the influence and refusal to submit blood sample.

According to EVMS, Nancy matriculated into the Doctor of Medicine program in 2015, having been accepted to EVMS as a BS/MD student while a sophomore at Virginia Wesleyan College.

Nancy was an active member of the American Medical Women’s Association, Medical Spanish service learning, and the Mind, Meditation, and Yoga group

School officials say Nancy was a passionate advocate for the elderly through her work with Beyond Clinic Walls and the Student Association for Geriatric Enthusiasts, and she targeted her compassion to those suffering from ALS as well.

"Students told have told me that in our panels where we bring in people dying, suffering from different diseases, she wept regularly with these persons," says Paul Aravich, professor of Pathology and Anatomy at EVMS. "That’s the kind of person that inspires me. She's the student who keeps the professor alive."

Before moving on to EVMS, Nancy played as a forward on the Virginia Wesleyan College Women's Basketball team. She majored in biology.

Her coach says she was way more than just an inspiration on the court.

"She was an RA, she worked for the Baton Center, she was involved in community service, I mean you name it, she did it," says Stephany Dunmyer, head coach. "I don't think you can walk anywhere on campus where someone didn't know Nancy and wasn't positively affected by her."

While Nancy will not carry on and save lives as a doctor, she will as a body donor. EVMS officials say her tragedy will save eight lives.

"You know I think people that live 80, 90 years, I don't think would have the same impact that she had," says Dunmyer. "We will continue to try to live and make the impact that she would have made, had she been able to."