Amherst College sophomore dies in crash; 3 others injured

Jordan A. Moore-Fields and three friends were returning to Amherst from a trip when the accident occurred. The 19-year-old sophomore was from Oak Park, Ill.

The Amherst College community and an Illinois family were mourning yesterday after the death of a sophomore in a car accident in Holyoke on Sunday.

Three other Amherst students were injured.

Jordan A. Moore-Fields, 19, of Oak Park, Ill., was riding in the back seat of a car that overturned and crashed on Interstate 91 in Holyoke shortly before 10:30 p.m. He was taken to Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, where he was pronounced dead.

State Police said another Amherst student, Edward G. Prevatt, 21, of Trinidad, was driving a 1996 Honda Accord when he lost control and went off the road. Prevatt and two other Amherst students, Matthew C. Ghiden, 21, of Concord, N.H., and Christian J. Garris, 21, of New Bedford, were also taken to Baystate, with minor injuries.

Moore-Fields had not yet declared a major, though school officials and family members said he had a strong interest in political science and economics.

"Everybody was just so proud of him in this community," Jeanne Martinez, who was acting as a spokeswoman for Moore-Fields's father, Mark Fields, said by phone from Illinois.

Martinez described Moore-Fields as a good student who was editor of his high school paper and an active volunteer in his community. "His parents are very proud of him," she said.

Anthony Marx, president of Amherst College, issued a statement saying: "There is nothing more devastating to a small and close community such as ours than the death of one of its members, especially one so young and so full of promise."

The four friends were returning to school after a weekend trip to Baltimore to visit a friend, Marx said.

State Police are investigating the crash. Northbound I-91 was closed between exits 15 and 16 for about three hours.

In addition to his father, Moore-Fields leaves his mother, Jacqueline Moore; a brother, Merrick, a sophomore in high school; and twin 9-year-old sisters, Lindsey and Kendal.

John Guilfoil can be reached at jguilfoil@globe.com.