Lt. Col. John Wade Collins, chairman of the Department of Aerospace Studies and commander of the Air Force ROTC, died in a car accident Monday morning.
A car going southbound on 15-501 between Bynum Road and Ruth Lane in Pittsboro went over the median into the northbound lane, causing an oncoming car to swerve off the road, and then hitting Collins' car.
"It's a loss for the University," said University spokesman Rick White. "The entire University is in mourning."
Collins graduated from Texas A&M in 1992. He has served at Yokota Air Base in Japan, Pope Army Airfield in North Carolina, and Little Rock Air Force Base in Arkansas.
CORRECTION: Due to an editing error, a previous version of this story stated that the oncoming car in the northbound lane hit Collins' car. The car going southbound first caused the oncoming car to swerve, and then the southbound car hit Collins' car. The story has been updated to reflect this change.
