Malawi bus-train crash survivors return
Ten university study tour participants returned to Madison today (Thursday, July 8) from South Africa after their 14-member group was involved in a minibus-train crash Sunday in Malawi.
The returning participants, all Medical School students, arrived about 12:40 p.m. at Dane County Regional Airport on a commercial flight.
“We are very relieved that nearly all of the students have returned to Madison,” said senior associate dean Dr. Susan Skochelak. “A large number of people helped make arrangements for their return, and we owe them a debt of thanks. In addition to Associate Dean Mikel Snow and many people at UW Hospital and Clinics, I’d like to publicly thank the many Medical School faculty and staff who put in lots of hours working with students and families. Patrick Deroose of AES International SOS has also been of particular help during this difficult situation.”
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See also: Tracy services scheduled; memorial established Details on Malawi study tour participants Vehicle crash in Malawi kills UW student, injures others |
Student Michele Tracy, 24, of Middleton, and Malawian bus driver Herbert Chissaka were killed in the crash near the village of Balaka. The group was on a month-long Medical School program in the central African nation led by faculty advisor Craig Gjerde and his spouse, Cristel Gjerde.
State Department officials, a private international assistance company, AEA/International SOS Assistance, and Medical School staff have been working closely to assist the crash victims, Skochelak said. She praised AEA/International SOS Assistance, a Philadelphia-based emergency assistance firm, for arranging emergency medical care and taking care of other business for the crash victims. “Their help went way beyond the terms of the contract,” Skochelak said.
Initially, five group members were hospitalized in Johannesburg, South Africa. The Gjerdes and Eric Schneider, 25, of Green Lake, a first-year medical student who sustained a facial fracture, remain in South Africa recovering from their injuries but are doing well, said Senior Associate Dean Susan Skochelak of the UW Medical School. John Frey, chair of the UW–Madison Department of Family Medicine, remains in Johannesburg to consult with local physicians and assess the health of remaining group members.
The crash took place as the group was heading for the airport in Lilongwe to return home. The PanAfrican News Agency has reported that police are still investigating the circumstances of the accident. A locomotive on its way to a cement plant in Balaka struck the minibus carrying the group, the newspaper said.
Michele Tracy died at the scene; the minibus driver, Herbert Chissaka, died on the way to the hospital. The crash happened at 7:22 a.m. local time (12:22 a.m. CDT), the report said. The survivors of the crash were transported to Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Blantyre and then airlifted to a trauma center in Johannesburg, South Africa.
The group was in Malawi to study the country’s health-care system and to help develop services for children orphaned by AIDS. Group members had spent a month in Malawi, and had delivered books and other materials to the Malawi Children’s Village, a home for children orphaned by AIDS, which continues to spread rapidly in some African countries.
Tracy services scheduled; memorial established
Funeral services are scheduled Tuesday for Michele Tracy, 24, of Middleton, a University of Wisconsin–Madison medical school student killed Sunday in a minibus-train crash in central Africa.
The funeral is scheduled at 11 a.m. at Asbury United Methodist Church, 6101 University Ave., Madison.
Visitation is planned from 2-7 p.m. Monday at Gunderson Funeral Home, 7435 University Ave., Middleton.
Senior Associate Dean Susan Skochelak of the UW Medical School has talked to Tracy’s mother, Candi, and said the family wanted it known that despite the tragic death, they were glad Tracy made the trip to fulfill her dream of traveling to help children orphaned by AIDS.
“Michele was an active, caring person who was following her dream of helping others,” Skochelak said. “We have all expressed our caring and love for Michele to the Tracy family.”
The family of Michele Tracy has established a memorial fund in her name with the University of Wisconsin Foundation. Donors may designate contributions to the “UW Foundation/Michele Tracy Memorial Fund” and send to: UW Foundation, P.O. Box 8860, Madison, Wis. 53708-8860.