2/22/98

ATHENS, Ohio -- Ohio University officials were notified Saturday that an Ashland, Ohio, sophomore who was studying winter quarter in Mexico was killed early Friday morning in a car accident that also claimed the lives of two Mexican citizens in Progreso, Mexico, on the Gulf of Mexico.

Nicole Parrish, 20, died Friday morning, according to Josep Rota, director of the university's Center for International Studies. He said the student's family was notified of the accident Friday.

Rota said that his information came from one of the Modern Languages Department faculty members who is with a group of 45 Ohio University students attending a language institute in Merida. University officials have been in contact with Ms. Parrish's family.

The U.S. Consulate in Merida is helping with the repatriation of the body, which is expected to take about a week. A Catholic Mass was said on Sunday afternoon in Merida in memory of those who died.

Vice President for Student Affairs Joel Rudy said that the university is offering counseling services to students who knew Ms. Parrish. "We are attempting to reach out to our students in Mexico, as well as the students in Athens who knew her," Rudy said.