Hong Kong driver kills SAS student

According to a press release issued by Semester at Sea’s Institute for Shipboard Education, which is academically overseen by the University, Kurt Leswing, a 21-year-old student participating in the program, was fatally struck by a driver while visiting Hong Kong last week.

The driver, who was intoxicated, was arrested immediately on Friday morning, the release stated. The Institute for Shipboard Education is now investigating the incident along with the U.S. Consul General in Hong Kong.

Lauren Heinz, director of communications for Semester at Sea, said other students participating in the program are currently able to receive support services from professional grief counselors and shipboard staff if needed in the wake of Leswing’s death.

Leswing, from Milwaukee, Wisc., was a student at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. According to the press release, Semester at Sea staff described Leswing, “as a gentle, kind, and easy-going person who cared about others and had a thoughtful and consoling nature.” Leswing is survived by his parents and twin brother.

Jack Van De Water, executive dean of the fall 2008 voyage, stated in the release that Leswing’s death “reminds us of the value of every human life and how fragile it is. Each of us who knew Kurt must try to remember him in a way that honors his life and the contributions he made to our community.”

—compiled by Tom Christensen