Durham, N.C. — A Duke sophomore from Clemmons who planned to help start  a girl's boarding school in Kenya next summer died from injuries she sustained when a car struck her while she was riding her bicycle near her home, school officials said Tuesday.

Claire Crowley was struck Saturday evening, Duke said in a statement. She died several hours later.

Duke biologist Sherryl Broverman said Crowley had become deeply interested this fall in the issue of gender inequality in Kenya after taking Broverman's class on AIDS and emerging diseases. Crowley was among 12 students in a research service-learning section that focused on a project called the Women's Institute for Secondary Education and Research (WISER), which is creating a boarding school for girls in Kenya.

"Of her own accord, she definitely took on a leadership role," Broverman said. "It's a blow to the project. Claire had invested a lot. It's a loss for WISER."

Funeral services will be held in Crowley's Forsyth County hometown on Thursday.

A Claire Crowley Memorial Fund at the Duke University Women's Institute for Secondary Education for Muhuru Bay, Kenya, has been established and is accepting contributions at Box 90338, Durham, N.C., 27708