Former CCU sports communications employee dies after car accident

Paul Hershey, who worked in the Coastal Carolina University sports information department for three years from 2012-15, died Tuesday from injuries suffered in a car accident in Radford, Va.

Hershey, 40, was an assistant athletic communications director at Radford University. He was in charge of the news releases, media relations and other communications tasks for the Radford men’s basketball team, and also handled media relations duties for the Radford softball, women’s soccer, women’s track and field, and men’s and women’s cross country teams.

In his three years at CCU, Hershey worked with the softball, women’s soccer, and women’s indoor track and field teams.

According to a report in The Roanoke Times that cited police, Hershey attempted to make a left-hand turn near his apartment complex in his 2005 Toyota Sedan at about 6 p.m. on June 13 and failed to yield the right of way to a 2017 Nissan SUV.

He was taken to Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital and died Tuesday as a result of his injuries.

The driver of the Nissan was taken to New River Valley Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries, according to police cited by the Roanake Times.

Before working at Coastal, Hershey was a graduate assistant in the sports information office at Ithaca, where he earned a masters degree in 2012. Hershey was a sports writer for more than 10 years at newspapers in New York and North Carolina before moving into athletic communications. He earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Penn State in 1998.

Former colleagues said Hershey’s sense of humor kept them laughing.

A memorial service for family and friends will be held at 10:30 a.m. Saturday at the Grove United Methodist Church at 1020 Tyler Ave. in Radford, Va. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to The Paul Hershey Memorial Scholarship Fund at Radford’s Office of University Advancement, P.O. Box 6893, Radford, VA 24142.

This story was originally published June 28, 2017 at 10:52 PM with the headline "Former CCU sports communications employee dies after car accident."