Sylvia Hatchell, former UNC basketball coach, cited in death of pedestrian

Sylvia Hatchell, the former UNC women’s basketball coach, was cited Friday with misdemeanor death by vehicle after an 89-year-old pedestrian was hit in a parking lot near Chapel Hill, a Durham Police Department spokesperson confirmed Friday evening.

Betty Colby died Jan. 8, two days after being hit by a vehicle and hitting her head on the pavement in a parking lot on Farrington Road, according to a press release.

Hatchell, 67, was also charged with an unsafe movement violation. Impairment and speed were not factors, according to the release.

Hatchell did not respond to calls from The News & Observer on Friday afternoon.

A family member for Colby declined to comment on behalf of the family when reached by phone Friday evening.

Hatchell coached the Tar Heels women’s program from 1986-2019. She resigned last year after an investigation alleged she made a racially insensitive comment and pressured players to play injured. She denied the latter allegation in an interview with The News & Observer in July.

Hatchell, who’s in the Naismith hall of fame, is the only women’s basketball coach to win national championships at three different levels — AIAW, NAIA and NCAA.

She won 751 games at UNC, including an NCAA title in 1994. She also won eight ACC championships, the most recent in 2008, and took the Tar Heels to three Final Fours. Hatchell missed the 2013-14 season while undergoing treatment for leukemia. She returned the following year.

In February 2019, Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim was involved in pedestrian-involved accident. Boeheim was driving on an interstate at night when he swerved to avoid a disabled vehicle, and struck and killed a man. Boeheim was not charged, according to the New York Times.

This story was originally published January 10, 2020 at 5:05 PM with the headline "Sylvia Hatchell, former UNC basketball coach, cited in death of pedestrian."