A Milligan University cross country/track and field athlete who was seriously injured in a hit-and-run accident that killed a teammate Thursday evening was released from a Virginia hospital over the weekend and was heading home to Johnson City, Tenn., to continue his recovery, according to the university.
Alex Mortimer, 23, a graduate student at Milligan, suffered injuries described as life-threatening—including several broken bones—in that Thursday night training run incident in Williamsburg, Va., that killed his teammate, sophomore Eli Cramer.
In a video posted a milligan.edu, Mortimer said the worst of his injuries “were a broken leg and a dislocated shoulder. I want to exhort and thank all of you all for praying for me, for the Milligan team, and for the university. . . . Moments like this make you realize what is and is not important in your life.”
Soon after Milligan’s cross country/track and field teams arrived in Williamsburg, Va., Thursday for the 56th Annual Colonial Relays at William & Mary, four athletes and an assistant coach went on a training run along Williamsburg Potter Road when three athletes were struck by a car, which fled the scene. Senior Eli Baldy was treated at the hospital and released.
“We are incredibly heartbroken by this tragedy,” Milligan’s athletic director Christian Pope said Friday.
Milligan president Bill Greer called the incident a “tragedy.”
“We are grateful that Alex Mortimer’s and Eli Baldy’s injuries were less serious and that they are already on the path to recovery,” Greer said Friday. “And so we continue to pray for them and for their families and we pray for the family of Eli Cramer as they deal with the tragic loss of their son.”
“I am grateful for the outpouring of support from across the country and around the world,” said Greer, who said he had spoken to all of the families who were directly impacted.
Hundreds of students, faculty, and staff filled Milligan’s Seeger Chapel for prayer on Thursday evening. Classes were canceled Friday, and counselors were available throughout the weekend. The Buffaloes athletic squad returned home from Virginia Friday without competing.
Cramer, 20, was a sophomore business administration major at Milligan. In his two years with the Buffaloes, he was third finisher on Milligan’s 2021 NAIA national champion cross country team, he was a two-time All-American, and two-time All-AAC for cross country. He also set a program record in the 8k.
In track and field, Cramer was a four-time national qualifier, most recently finishing 10th in the 5k at the NAIA Indoor National Championships.
Mortimer is a four-time All-AAC cross country runner and finished fourth at the NAIA national championships last spring, among his many running accomplishments. He graduated in May with an undergraduate degree in ministry and is enrolled in Milligan’s MBA program.
A short time after the fatal accident, Virginia State Police arrested Jose Efrain Hernandez Mancia, 26, of Williamsburg. Mancia had crashed into a median. Mancia has been charged with involuntary manslaughter, maiming, hit and run as a felony, reckless driving, and driving under the influence, according to the Daily Press.
(Milligan University is continuing to update this story at milligan.edu/breakingnews/.)
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