EDMONTON – A Northern Alberta Institute of Technology instructor killed in a motorcycle crash near campus Wednesday evening is being remembered as a passionate teacher dedicated to his students.
“I can honestly say he was the best instructor, both in terms of actually teaching the material and in terms of being great to talk to,” said Ryan Troock, a first-year game design student in NAIT’s digital media program.
Graham Miller, 47, was killed after the Victory motorcycle he was riding was struck by a Ford Fusion sedan at the intersection of 106th Street and Princess Elizabeth Avenue.
The Ford was heading east on Princess Elizabeth Avenue when it turned, striking the westbound motorcycle at around 8 p.m. Wednesday. The 41-year-old man driving the car was not injured.
The motorcyclist was treated at the scene before being transported to Royal Alexandra Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Miller was an instructor for the digital media and information technology program at NAIT. Most recently, he taught a Photoshop course for a group of digital media students, Troock said. He was met by a substitute teacher when he went to Miller’s noon class on Thursday.
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Next semester, Miller was set to teach a course on video game design. He had also volunteered to work with Troock and some other students to create a video game design club.
The club hoped to bring guest speakers to NAIT to give video game design students a better idea of what it’s like to work in the industry.
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The hands-on Miller wanted to help as much as he could with the new club, but always made sure to not overshadow the efforts of his students, Troock said.
“He was more worried about doing too much than too little,” Troock said.
The flags at the NAIT campus were at half-mast on Thursday afternoon.
“This is a great loss to the NAIT community. Graham will be deeply missed,” read a statement released from the school. NAIT will not be making any additional comments on the crash.
Miller taught at NAIT for about 10 years and won a teacher of the year award from the school, said his friend Robert Lynch.
“He had many passions in life, and teaching was clearly one of them,” Lynch said.
Miller was also an active member of Edmonton’s rugby community. He played with the Edmonton Clansmen Rugby Club and coached St. Francis Xavier high school rugby teams with Lynch.
“This guy has impacted and touched so many lives,” Lynch said.
Police do not believe alcohol or drugs were factors in the Wednesday night crash.
This was Edmonton’s fifth motorcycle-related traffic fatality in 2011.
There have been 19 traffic fatalities this year, compared to 24 fatalities last year at this time.
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