Investigation ongoing as UD student remembered at funeral service

The 19-year-old was a Moeller High School graduate and in his first year at UD.

The words “keep going” emerged in the wake of Currin’s injury and subsequent death as a catchphrase. Currin shared that those were his father’s last words to him as he suffered a heart attack during a fun run while on a family vacation in Florida.

His father, the late Joe Currin, also was a Moeller grad who played basketball for the Dayton Flyers. Dayton men’s basketball coach Anthony Grant offered his condolences Monday on the team’s Twitter account.

“Michael was a member of our University of Dayton family as a student and as a son and grandson of former UD athletics greats. The words ‘keep going’ are ones that were important to Michael in his life and they are words that will echo on our campus," he said.

Currin was walking to get a carry-out pizza early Sept. 21 on Wayne Avenue when he accepted a ride from a man driving a pickup truck. He somehow fell out of the truck’s bed in the 3100 block of Wayne Avenue. The driver kept going and did not call for help, Dayton police said.

Moments later, around 3:30 a.m., a woman stopped and called 911, police said.

Currin died the following day at Miami Valley Hospital. The Montgomery County Coroner’s Office determined he suffered a head injury consistent with falling from a moving vehicle, police said.

Dayton police previously said detectives identified the truck’s occupants and were interviewing them and that they had a warrant to search the pickup.

Dayton police said Monday they were unable to share more details of the investigation, which is ongoing. However, police called the number of offers of help from the public “remarkable” and said it “is truly a testament to Michael’s impact on those who knew him.”