WHEATON, Ill. (AP) -- A college student has died after being struck during a hammer-throw event at a track meet in suburban Chicago.

Wheaton College officials say 19-year-old student Ethan Roser was volunteering at a track and field competition at the school when he was accidentally struck by a hammer at about 4:15 p.m. Saturday.

The hammer used in such competitions is a metal ball attached to a steel wire. The athlete holds a grip at the other end of the wire and spins several times before releasing it. The hammer weighs as much as 16 pounds.

The college says Roser was taken to Good Samaritan Hospital in Downers Grove, where he was pronounced dead. Other details about the accident weren't immediately released.

School officials say Roser was a freshman from Cincinnati.

-- The Associated Press