UNCC student dies in Florida car accident-2 volleyball teammates, friend were injured in crash outside Tampa
By Scott Dodd, Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
Saturday, March 13, 2004

Danielle Miller and her movie star smile are gone.

The 20-year-old UNC Charlotte sophomore, a blond spitfire from Woodstock, Ill., died in a car accident Friday morning north of Tampa, Fla. She was on spring break with other members of the college volleyball team.

Two of her friends from the squad -- freshman Millicent Martin and junior Holly Kreyling -- were in the car with her, school officials said. Martin, 19, of Houston, was flown by helicopter to an Orlando hospital, but her injuries weren't believed to be life-threatening.

Kreyling, 21, of Fort Wright, Ky., and Lindsey Macke, 21, walked away from the accident and were taken to Leesburg Regional Medical Center. Macke is not a UNCC student. She and Kreyling are friends from Kentucky.

A Florida Highway Patrol report said Martin was driving the GMC Jimmy SUV just before 8 a.m. and drifted into the median, then pulled back and flipped the car over. It rolled several times and caught on fire.

Miller's family said authorities told them Martin fell asleep.

Miller and her friends were in Miami for spring break. Four of them decided to drive to Panama City, which is about nine hours away, Miller's friends told her family Friday.

Miller's family lives in a small farm town in rural Illinois, about 50 miles northwest of Chicago. Her father, Timothy, worked for Commercial Edison and was killed three years ago when he was electrocuted on the job.

She has a 19-year-old sister, Brittany, and brother Tim Jr., 15.

Her mom, Debbie Miller, said Danielle was outgoing and competitive. "She was funny. She wanted to be a sports announcer," her mom said through tears.

Danielle was always smiling, Debbie said. She had a severe overbite as a kid and dental work from the time she was 6. When she finally got her braces off in 8th grade, "She loved her teeth," her mom said. "Every time she smiled, she put her teeth together in that movie star smile."

Coach Lisa Marston called Miller a "spitfire" and said she was always using a quote or a sports cliché to get a giggle out of her teammates. "She was one of the very few players who would tease me back, and I liked that."

Miller would always say, "Smell you later, coach," after practice or a game.

At 12, Miller fell 17 feet out of a tree, dislocating her shoulder and badly breaking her arm. She spent months in rehab. Even at that age, she knew she wanted to play sports.

"She was afraid she wouldn't be able to play volleyball again," Debbie Miller said. "She kept at it and kept at it."

That same determination brought her to UNC Charlotte. Miller made the team as a walk-on, excelling on defense and returning serves. She got a temporary scholarship this spring and was going to earn a full one in the fall, Marston said. "She really wanted that."

The coach never got to tell her.

Marston traveled to Orlando and was at the hospital Friday night to visit Martin. She said the rest of the players, who had stayed in Miami, were on their way to be at Martin's bedside.

"I can't explain to you how close they are," the coach said.

"They're all like sisters. This is like a death in the family."

Kreyling was released from the Leesburg hospital Friday night but was staying with her friend, Macke, who was still being treated, Marston said.