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Miami hockey student manager dies in crash

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Staff Report Updated 6:40 PM Saturday, February 6, 2010

Miami University student Brendan Burke, a manager for the RedHawks’ hockey team, died Friday, Feb. 5, from injuries sustained in a two-car accident in Indiana.

Burke, 21, is the son of Toronto Maple Leafs General Manager and President Brian Burke.

“We are saddened to report that Brendan Burke, the youngest son of Leafs president and general manager Brian Burke, succumbed to injuries he suffered in an auto accident ... in Indiana,” the Leafs said in a statement Friday night.

“The family asks for privacy at this difficult time.”

The Miami hockey team learned of Burke’s death Friday night after its 2-0 win over Lake Superior State at Steve Cady Arena. None of the players were available for comment, and Miami coach Rico Blasi made a brief statement about the game and returned to the locker room.

Police told the Palladium-Item in Richmond, Ind., that Burke was driving east on U.S. 35 Friday afternoon when his 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee slid into the path of an oncoming truck. The driver of the truck was not injured.

A passenger in Burke’s vehichle, 18-year-old Mark Reedy of Michigan, also died. Reedy was a freshman on the Michigan State University volleyball team, according to the Toronto Globe and Mail.

Burke made headlines in the hockey world in December when he talked openly to several publications about his homosexuality.

“The important thing is that it’s started a discussion,” he told The Globe and Mail in an interview, “and people realize there could be a gay person next to them in the locker room.”

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