Caty Delwiche: Fond Memories, Few Answers

"She had a wind underneath her sails," Caty Delwiche's former youth pastor tells the Minneapolis Star Tribune in a story today remembering the Minnesota State - Mankato runner who was killed Tuesday when struck by an automobile.

In the Star Tribune story HERE and one in the Mankato Free Press HERE, the freshman cross country runner is portrayed as a vibrant, hardworking student-athlete eager to begin life as a college student.

"She was the kind of child every parent wishes was their own — you wish every kid could turn out like her," a family friend said in the Free Press story.

In another Free Press story, HERE, Mankato coach Jennifer Blue said, "She was just a great kid, and I want everybody to know that."

Details are unclear as to just why an SUV driven by Dale Hoechst crossed a lane of traffic and struck Delwiche and teammate Laura Palmer from behind while they ran and biked on the sidewalk. Alcohol does not seem to be a factor, according to media reports, although distracted driving is offered as a possibility.

Details on Delwiche's funeral, Friday, can be found HERE on the McLeod County Chronicle web-site.

Photo of Caty Delwiche courtesy of MSU - Mankato.