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Tampa Student Dies While At North Carolina College

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By RICHARD GOULD, Hickory (N.C.) Daily Record

and RAY REYES, The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 19, 2008

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  Harrison Kowiak

A 19-year-old Tampa sophomore attending college in North Carolina has died from what appears to be an accidental head injury, authorities say.

Detectives continued to investigate today what led to the death of Harrison Kowiak on Monday, said Catawba County Sheriff David Huffman. Kowiak attended Lenoir-Rhyne University, a small Lutheran college in Hickory, N.C.

"We're interviewing students and trying to understand what happened," Huffman said. "At this point, we're just treating it as an accidental death off-campus."

Witness statements are somewhat contradictory on how Kowiak was hurt, Huffman said. Investigators were told that Kowiak was playing flag football, tackle football or basketball.

David Gardner Tweed, the Kowiaks' family pastor, said he was told Kowiak was tossing a ball as he walked to his dorm with friends when "Apparently he landed wrong and hit his head on the concrete."

No drugs or alcohol were involved, the pastor said.

Kowiak was taken to a hospital in Charlotte on Monday, Huffman said. The sheriff's office did not receive a 911 call and was informed of the student's death Tuesday. Huffman said detectives are expecting medical information from the hospital this week.

"Hopefully we can get some good, concise information," Huffman said. "It would surprise me if it was anything but an accident."

Kowiak is a graduate of Wharton High School in New Tampa. He was recruited by Lenoir-Rhyne to play golf and was a scholarship player on the school's golf team, university spokesman Mike Langford said.

Jonathan Taylor, 22, of Clyde, said he knew Kowiak through mutual friends on the golf team.

"He was a good guy," Taylor said. "It's unfair that such a young person passed away. It makes you realize all is not certain."

More than 250 students attended a candlelight vigil at the university Tuesday night, Langford said. A memorial is planned on campus Thursday for Kowiak's family and friends. Grief counselors and clergy are helping students cope.

More than 1,600 students are enrolled in the private, liberal arts college, according to the university's Web site.

Nick McKenna, 18, said he grew up with Kowiak in California. He described Kowiak as a passionate golfer and a happy and smart kid who was adored by his parents, his sister and friends.

McKenna, of Livermore, Calif., said he heard from friends that Kowiak was playing football and hit his head. McKenna last saw Kowiak in July, when the childhood friends took a daytrip to San Francisco.

"It's hard to look back on it now and think it was the last time I'd see him," McKenna wrote in an e-mail to the Tampa Tribune. "He was a very goodhearted person and made everyone's life better."

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