FORT WAYNE, Ind. (AP) — An Indiana high school basketball star who suffered a serious head injury in a small plane crash that killed his father and stepmother likely won't return to the court this season, his family said Wednesday.
Austin Hatch made an early commitment in June to play at the University of Michigan starting in 2013. The plane crash happened shortly after.
His family said he's making strides in his rehabilitation, but the first year is vital to the recovery process and it's unlikely his doctors will clear him to play during his junior season. Along with a head injury, Hatch suffered a punctured lung and broken ribs and collarbone.
The family's statement was distributed by Fort Wayne's Canterbury High School, where the 6-foot-6 Hatch is a junior.
His father was flying when the plane struck a garage in a neighborhood near the Charlevoix Municipal Airport. The family had been on their way to their summer home on Walloon Lake in the Lower Peninsula.