Seminarians killed in crash called 'missionaries of Christ's love'

Published: 2005-09-20

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Two seminarians killed in an early-morning car crash on the grounds of Mundelein Seminary at the University of St. Mary of the Lake near Chicago were "wonderful and exuberant missionaries of Christ's love," Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann of Kansas City, Kan., said Sept. 16. Matthew Molnar, 28, and Jason Cheek, 23, were studying at the Illinois seminary for the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas. The two were back-seat passengers in a vehicle that struck a tree on the university grounds at about 1:45 a.m. Sept. 15. Molnar, a second-year theology student, was a member of St. Ann Parish in Prairie Village, Kan. Cheek, a first-year theology student, was a member of Immaculate Conception Parish in St. Marys, Kan. The driver of the vehicle, 27-year-old Robert Spaulding of Evansville, Wyo., was charged with reckless homicide and two counts of driving under the influence. The fourth seminarian in the Oldsmobile Aurora driven by Spaulding was Mark Rowlands, 36, of Columbus, Ohio, who police said was the vehicle's registered owner. He was arrested Sept. 16 and charged with unlawful use of a weapon and impersonation of a police officer after police reportedly found a handgun, ammunition and sheriff's deputy badges from Ohio in the car's glove compartment.

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