Student struck by car, dies

Accompanying her parents to football and basketball games, Berkley Branson fell in love with IU at a young age. \nStrolling around campus and into various buildings and sorority houses with her parents, both alumni, proved fascinating to the ambitious youngster.\nIt was an easy decision to attend IU, and she entered IU in the fall of 2000 as an education major. \nOn a recent trip home to her hometown of Evansville, the fair-haired freshman told her mother she wanted to be an English teacher. She described how she planned to challenge students; she detailed her desire to interest and engage her pupils in the works of Shakespeare. \nThe former high school soccer standout told her father, a former Little 500 rider, that she wanted to pledge a sorority so she, too, could pedal across the finish line at Bill Armstrong Stadium. \nBut those dreams were shattered early Saturday morning.\nShe was pronounced dead at Deaconess Hospital in Evansville after she reportedly exited a moving pickup truck and was crushed by its rear tires. Evansville Deputy Coroner Annie Groves told the Evansville Courier Sunday that Branson might have exited the vehicle during an argument with the driver, 19-year-old Matthew C. Willett of Evansville. \nAccording to the coroner's report, Branson and Willett had been drinking, but Willett's blood-alcohol level was beneath the state legal limit. Willett was not arrested. \nAdopted at 3 months old, Branson was her parents' only child. Her father remembered her as "always smiling, always giggling." Describing his daughter as loyal and dedicated to her family, Malcolm Branson said his daughter always knew her importance in the lives of her grandparents, and she never failed to call, write or visit them, even while at IU. \nHer days at F.J. Reitz High School in Evansville were marked by success, both in and out of the classroom. In addition to maintaining positions as senior class secretary and features editor of the school newspaper, Branson was a Student Council representative, National Honor Society member and captain of the varsity soccer team. \nJeremy Wolfe, Branson's former coach, met Sunday with members of the 2000 varsity team to discuss the tragedy. Though some players remained close to home after graduation, former teammates flew in from as far as Arizona to pay tribute to the player Wolfe called "a real motivator."\n"She was a tremendous asset for Reitz High School and our soccer program," Wolfe told the Courier Sunday. "It's hard to believe she's not here anymore."\nBranson also possessed a great love for the craft of writing, a passion shared by her mother. \n"She was an excellent writer and deep and caring person," Malcolm Branson said. "She was always thinking of ways to make people feel better about themselves."\nSophomore Andy Shoulders also spoke highly of Branson's selfless character. Though a childhood playmate of Branson, he said he hadn't seen her since their days shared on a preschool playground. Their friendship was rekindled, Shoulders said, while living in Teter Quad this year.\nDuring Shoulders' fraternity pledgeship, he said Branson would often forgo a party to sit with him while he worked at his house. \n"She had a great personality," Shoulders said. "She was always willing to put something down to help someone else. Just the fact that she would forget about partying to sit and talk and listen … I've lost a great friend, and I'm going to miss her a lot"