Updated Friday, May 23, 2008

Steven Curtis Chapman's daughter killed

Baptist Press

FRANKLIN, Tenn. - Maria Sue, the 5-year-old daughter of Christian musician Steven Curtis Chapman, died May 21 after she was struck by an SUV driven by her teenage brother in the family's driveway south of Nashville, Tenn.

The Tennessean newspaper reported that the brother was driving down the gravel driveway of the rural home around 5:30 p.m. while several children were playing in the area. He did not see Maria in the driveway before the vehicle struck her, a spokeswoman for the Tennessee Highway Patrol said.

Maria, the youngest of three daughters that the Chapmans adopted from China, was taken by medical helicopter to Vanderbilt Children's Hospital, where she died of her injuries.

Authorities did not release the name of the brother, though Chapman has two sons, Caleb and Will Franklin, who have toured in recent years with him and are part of their own Christian band called The Following. The highway patrol representative said the incident looked like a tragic accident and no charges were expected.

The Tennessean said the accident was witnessed by two other children, and the entire family of six, including oldest daughter Emily and mother Mary Beth, who was home at the time.

A Chapman oriented blog, with a page now devoted to Maria's memory, includes a video of the girl and her father washing dishes and singing a song in the family's kitchen two months before her death. The memory page can be viewed at http://chapmanchannel.typepad.com/inmemoryofmaria/.

"The Chapman family is so grateful for the incredible outpouring of love and support at this difficult time," a brief statement posted at stevencurtischapman.com said before linking to the blog.

More than five years ago, the Chapmans founded Shaohannah's Hope, a ministry to help families reduce the financial barrier to adoption. It's named after their first adopted daughter from China, Shaohannah, and it has provided grants to more than 1,700 families adopting children from around the world.

Instead of flowers, the Chapmans have requested that gifts in memory of Maria be given to Shaohannah's Hope.