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Ithaca College senior dies in Route 13 car accident

By JENNIE DALEY and MICHELE REAVES
Journal Staff

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ITHACA -- A 21-year-old Ithaca College senior died Saturday morning in a car accident on Route 13 near Hanshaw Road.

Erika Watson, a Middletown, Conn. native, was traveling northbound on Rt. 13 in the Town of Dryden when she lost control of her car at 8:30 a.m. Saturday.

In the icy conditions, her car crossed into the southbound lane and was struck broadside by an oncoming Loomis Fargo armored truck. She was alone in her vehicle and neither of the two passengers in the armored car were injured.

"She was a very happy, positive person. I don't think she had an enemy in this world," said her father, Stan Watson.

"She had just gotten the best grades she'd ever received in college and was looking forward to graduating in May. She was on top of the world."

Erika Watson was on her way to work as a ski instructor at Greek Peak when she hit a patch of black ice, he said.

"The roads were icy," said Captain Lawrence Jackmin of the New York State Police. "There were some snow spots. We've been absolutely inundated with accidents with this weather."

Only one other area accident this winter has led to a fatality. On Dec. 17 Julia Hill, a 2003 graduate of Groton High School, lost control of her vehicle on Rt. 34B in Dryden and skidded into oncoming traffic. Road conditions that day were also treacherous as the thermometer teetered around 32 degrees.

Temperatures were in the single digits on Friday night and into Saturday morning with winds blowing at 10 mph, said meteorologist Mitch Gilt, of the National Weather Service in Binghamton.

Erika Watson had only been working a few weeks as a ski instructor for Greek Peak, according to her housemate Jason Harris. Harris and Watson became friends their freshman year at Ithaca College, living on the same dormitory floor and taking a freshman-seminar class together. They decided to become housemates along with friend Anjana Hansen in August.

Harris last spoke to Watson as she left the house with her boyfriend Friday night. Hansen was out of town. Stan Watson called Harris to relay the news and he told friends arriving back in town from the winter break.

"I'll miss her being here in our apartment and at the school," he said. "She was always the fun girl to be around. You wanted to get to know her more, you wanted to be with her. You have to meet her. She's self-explanatory."

Erika Watson was an art major with a minor in psychology and would have graduated in May.

"She was trying to prepare a career for helping people with disabilities through art therapy," her father said. "She loved music. She had just gotten an MP3 player for Christmas and was busy filling it up with music. She liked Phish. She traveled to their concerts when she could. She liked happy things," her father said.

He hopes that through her death someone will be saved since Erika was an organ donor.

The funeral will be held on Saturday in Connecticut. Arrangements for a memorial service at the college have not been made, pending the Watsons' requests, said Dave Maley, the college's media relations director.

An e-mail was sent to the college's staff and 6,100 students who returned to school today, informing them of Erika Watson's death. Counseling is available to students through the Counseling Center and campus chaplains for those who are struggling with the news.

Erika Watson is survived by her parents, Stan and Nancy Watson, and Justin, her younger brother.

Originally published Monday, January 19, 2004