King & Spalding Summer Associate Dies in Commuter Train Accident
A summer associate at King & Spalding with a seemingly bright future who was to start his third year of law school this fall died early Sunday in a Washington, D.C., commuter train accident.
Joseph Doyle’s death was announced Monday in an online letter to the College of William & Mary community, reports the Richmond Times-Dispatch. An Oklahoma native who graduated in 2004 from the University of Virginia, he was a student at William & Mary Law School.
A W&M spokeswoman wrote that the accident occurred as Doyle was changing trains.
Authorities say Doyle, 28, apparently fell accidentally onto the tracks and was struck by an Orange Line train en route to New Carollton. The Washington Post says he was initially trapped under the train at its midway point, extricated by rescuers and then taken to an area trauma center in grave condition before dying later that morning.
Described by the law school dean as an outstanding student with excellent prospects who had held a number of posts related to his interest in election law, Doyle had been scheduled to being a second summer associate job next month at Sandler Reiff & Young.
“I taught him in class. … He was a great student,” partner and adjunct professor Joe Sandler tells the newspaper. “He was cheerful, well-adjusted, had a job, had a future.”
