Emily McNamara, the 42-year-old assistant women's hockey coach at Vermont's Middlebury College, died on Friday, six months after surviving a severe car crash. McNamara was a respected figure in collegiate hockey, having won three consecutive national titles during her playing career at Middlebury and subsequently serving as both assistant and head coach at various institutions. Her death came after a prolonged struggle with injuries sustained in the collision and their complications.

McNamara suffered life-threatening injuries in the crash on 20 March during an ice storm, including fractures to her face, clavicle, neck, ribs and pelvis, as well as traumatic brain injury. In the months following the accident, she developed complications including an imbalance in nervous system responses (common during brain injury recovery), followed by a lung infection that triggered pneumonia. Her husband, David Campbell (who also coaches at Middlebury), indicated that the combination of these conditions became untenable, and she was moved to hospice care on 2 September. Funeral arrangements have not yet been announced.